Why We Sail: The Star Pirates
by Itzkiddo
Summary: Mason, the captain of the Star Pirates, along with his brother/childhood friend Lucas set sail to try and better the world they live in. Mason and his crew find new riches and write their own exciting new tales on their journey through the many waters of their world.
1. Winoah Island

**Episode 1 - Winoah Island**

Maggie watches as the lonely and unfamiliar ship began to approach the docks. A Jolly Roger flying high on the main mast meant only that this small ship belonged to some pirates making her small town of Winoah in the West Blue just another stop on their journey.

Only two men had left the ship since it docked, surely for even a small ship they'd have more than just two crew members. She watched as both men entered the nearby bar. "Surely they are up to no good, damn pirates" she thought to herself.

Maggie was a 19 year old girl who had lived in this small port town of Winoah since she was born. She had orange-red hair just a few inches short of her shoulders and light hazel eyes. She was taller than most other women in the town but at 5'8" that wasn't very impressive. Her mint colored jacket was a splash of colour on top of her white tank and dark grey pants. Maggie left her normal post on top a hill just outside of town and went down to the Warf to check out these new pirates.

Upon entering the bar the two were easy to spot. Two men: on the left a taller man, seemingly about her age maybe a year older. He had messy brown hair no longer than a few inches. He wore dark brown pants and black shoes, an untucked tan tee with red and green triangles around the collar. The man to his right looked about the same age and was probably an inch or two shorter than the first. His hair was much tidier, it was blonde and spiked towards the front, it was shorter than the first mans as well. He wore a black waistcoat with a red long sleeve shirt under, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He also wore black pants and some worn out work boots and work gloves. He clearly hadn't taken a shower in a while because his hair and clothes were littered with little specs of black dust. The two sat at the far right end of the bar, surprisingly quiet. Maggie approached the pirates from the right side of the bar ready to inform them of the mistake they've made.

"Do you two have any clue what type of town you're in" she asked without giving the pirates a chance to respond. "It's a Marine town. The Navy has an active base set up on the west side of town and they have zero tolerance for pirates in their town."

"This is a peaceful town and the navy intends to keep it that way" Maggie continued. "I suggest you both get back on that small boat I saw you dock this morning and head out to some other island in the West Blue."

The man on the left spoke up, he appeared to be the ship's captain. "We didn't come here to cause any trouble. We've been out at sea for a while now and just wanted a better meal, a few drink and a stationary bed for a night or two. Now we've already talked to the owners of this bar and worked out a deal to stay for a few nights. We've already paid them for the room and made them the same promise that we didn't come here to start trouble" the pirate took a pause the continued. "We can get you a drink if it would help the…" He was cut off as the doors to the bar slammed open.

A dozen marines flooded into the once quiet bar, all other patrons besides the three at the counter slipped out the front door behind the line of guns.

"We have been tipped that two pirates entered the town this morning and have been hiding in this bar causing a ruckus" said the seemingly head of this batch of navy soldiers. The two pirates looked over to Maggie with accusing faces while she just met them with a confused shrug, this wasn't her doing.

Both pirates turned back to the food taking a few more bites until the man on the left raised his hand and without turning around he called out to the head marine, "We're right here officer."

Maggie looked at the man confused, "was he really just going to turn himself and his friend in? No struggle at all? What kind of pirates are these two, idiots surely."

The dozen or so marines marched to the counter and pulled Maggie aside, surrounding the pirates and getting a better look at who these idiots were.

"Pfft, a couple of nobodies" the marine leader stated. "Looks to me like Mason and Lucas, the Star Pirates, pitiful. Neither one of these idiots are worth over 5 million beli." Maggie knew they were dumb but docking in a marine town with bounties like that, they were asking to get arrested.

Almost feeling bad for them Maggie spoke up. "These two haven't done anything wrong. It seems like they just needed some food and sleep. Besides with bounties like that are they really going to cause any trouble?"

The marine leader frowned, "Maggie I thought you of all people would like to see these two hung. A pirate is a pirate regardless of their potential to do harm, we have to protect the town from these scum."

The marines blocked Maggie out even more than before and head spoke to the pirate captain Mason. "You both are under arrest for the illegal act of piracy. I suggest you make this easy and not put up a fight. You will be taken to the Navy camp on the west side of town where you will sit and wait to stand trial 3 days from today."

Mason nodded to his crewmate Lucas which caused the marine soldiers to tense the fingers on their triggers even more than they had been before but both pirates simply raised their wrists to be arrested without putting up a fight.

With a smirk the head marine said "See not all of you pirates are as dumb as you look. We didn't really want to cause a fuss in this nice bar anyways." Mason responded with "neither did we."

Maggie soon realized what had just happened. These two weren't simply admitting defeat, they were keeping the promise they had just made to her and the one they had previously made to the bar owners. They didn't intend to be the cause of any trouble.

Mason and Lucas were escorted out of the bar in wooden wrist shackles by the dozen marines. They would be taken to the Navy prison and held until their trial in 3 days.

The bar owner resurfaced from the back room, a good friend of Maggie since she was a small girl. "You know for pirates those two were probably the most polite customers I've had all week. They came in, paid for three days' worth of food and drink in advance as well as paying for two nights in one of our guest rooms with the promise of not making a scene. Polite to all of the workers as well."

"These pirates were no danger to anyone in this town and now in a few days they would surely be hung" Maggie thought, and that didn't sit well with her at all.

After being stripped of their weapons and other belongings Mason and Lucas were taken to a jail cell on the third floor of the Navy building. Once the final guard had left Lucas looked toward his captain and asked "so how long are we going to wait?" Mason responded with "We'll give her two days, after that on the third day we can get going." "Do you really think she's going to do anything" Lucas questioned.

"Clearly she dislikes pirates" Mason responded, "but I could tell by the way she talked to those marines and defended us that she hold some kind of grudge against them as well. Now all we have to do is convince her just how bad the marines really are and we'll have our third crew member" Mason said with a chuckle.

"I don't know how you can be so sure of these things Mason, we don't even know if she'd be of any use on a pirate ship."

"You just leave all that up to me but for now we just have to wait and see what happens."

The initial day of their arrest had finished and the next day had passed as well. Today was their last day of waiting before making their move. It was early afternoon and the guards were just bringing the pirates their second meal. Being the only pirates in custody the guards tended to tease the two helpless pirates. Shortly into this guards speech on how pathetic the captain and his first mate were a window behind him shattered and he fell against the bars unconscious.

Lucas scrambled for the man's keys as Mason just laughed at his own self enjoyment that he had been right. Lucas inspected the body and found the guard had been struck by a rubber bullet in the back of the head knocking him out but not necessarily killing him.

Lucas and Mason took advantage of their situation made their escape. They headed down the flight of stairs from the third to the second floor and again from the second floor to ground level. They opted to leave their weapons and make a hasty escape but were met by a figure at the door. A shorter person with a red scarf wrapped around their head only revealing their eyes. They had 4 pistons one on each hip holstered and one in either hand.

The figure handed them each a pistol and then drew the remaining two from their holstered state. They proceeded to shoot a lone marine who had come up behind the two pirates. Another rubber bullet and another non-lethal shot.

The Navy base was already small and was lightly manned at the time because of pirate problems on a neighboring island making their escape almost too easy. The figure took down a handful more guards on their way to the gate where they found no other line of opposition. A successful escape and so many questions.

"So Maggie, What took you so long" Mason asked with a hint of I knew it in his voice.

"Don't act like you knew I would come save you two" Maggie responded.

Lucas interjected, "regardless of if we knew or not how about we keep moving. The marines will be after us again and we need a plan to get out of here without causing any more trouble."

"While you two were busy being locked up in jail I took the liberty of moving your ship to a small cove just outside of town before the marines could get to it. The entrance to the cove is too small for most navy ships, I'll take you to it."

A bigger smile found its way on to Mason's face, He knew he was right about her.

After reaching the ship and many thank-yous later Mason had to ask something else of their new friend Maggie.

"We will not be able to sail tonight, the weather and seas are about to get rough. We are also short on food and water. Maggie his is some money, walk away with it if you want but we can't go back into town. We need you to bring us back at least enough supplies to get us to the next island."

Maggie looked at the Pirate captain confused. A pirate was asking her for help AND giving her money to do so. Regardless of her conflicted feelings towards pirates she agreed to help. After a short trek back to Winoah she entered the same bar where the pirates had been captured a few days prior. Maggie called for the bar owners, she knew them by name. They were an older couple with only a grandson.

"Chuck, Sharry, I need help getting some food and drink supplies." The couple emerged from the back room of the bar willing to help.

"I need to get some supplies out to the cove just outside of town. I know I can buy the food from you here but I'll need help moving it too."

Chuck was a wise old man and wouldn't be fooled, He immediately asked who all of this was for unaware of the events at the Navy base just hours before.

"The two pirates arrested here a few days ago escaped, they need food and water before he can sail in the morning" Maggie responded.

Chuck eyed her for a moment but saw no joke on her face. After a quick pause and a sigh he responded, "Of course we'll help dear. Those pirates already paid for three days' worth of food and drink and only ate a meals worth."

Gathering the supplies had taken some time and the sky had started to darken. Word of the pirates escape had started going around town, fueling the town's thoughts towards pirates. Word of an unidentified person who helped in the escape also passed over the lips of the towns people. Chuck looked onto Maggie now knowing what she had done.

"Maggie you know as well as I do that when the marksman division of the marines come back tonight he's going to know right away who it was. I'd hope he would be better than to turn you in but he's changed Maggie, you may be in some trouble."

Maggie continued on silently knowing what Chuck had said was very true. Things were about to change and they may start to change very quickly very soon.

Mason and Lucas were readying the sails clearing the deck when Maggie and Chuck arrived. The two pirates greeted them with a wave and a smile and help haul the barrels of foodstuffs onto the ship. Maggie questioned why they were readying the sails if they weren't sailing until the morning.

"There's going to a break in the weather a few hours from now, we have decided to leave then and give the navy as little time to recover as possible" the captain responded.

Mason had still made no notion of his intents to get Maggie to join their crew. Lucas wondered what he has been waiting for. After transferring all of the goods below deck Chuck and Maggie set back towards Winoah with a solemn goodbye to the pirates.

Three quarters of the way into town Sharry flagged down Maggie and her husband with a look of concern on her face.

"The marksman division returned just moments ago and now Maggie your name is popping up all over town. Everyone is looking for you, they think you helped those two pirates escape" Sharry said still catching her breath.

"I did help them escape Mrs. Sharry" Maggie replied. "They meant no trouble in our own and we locked them away and sentenced them to death."

Mrs. Sharry looked on in fear realizing what would now happen to Maggie if she tried to go back to town.

"Maggie you need to leave dear. Once the marines find you, you will be executed just the same as the pirates you saved."

Maggie looked the old women in the eyes knowing she was right. "Chuck, Sharry, you are both right and my only way out of here is about to leave. When my parents find their way back home to Winoah please tell them what happened and if either of you see that damn boy, tell him that this is all his and the marines fault."

"Don't worry dear, we'll take care of everything" Sharry assured.

"Now get going before the pirate set sail without you" Chuck chimed in.

Maggie was running back down the now increasingly familiar trail to the cove where she last saw Mason and Lucas.

"You never even tried to ask her to join our crew" Lucas complained. "How can you possibly expect to gain and new members when you just let them run off and say goodbye for the last time."

"I told you, I know what I'm doing, no just finish tying down that sail already and we'll be set to leave" Mason answered.

Breaking through the tree line Maggie could see the sails of the Star Pirates' ship and the familiar faces of Mason and Lucas on board, she had made it in time.

Lucas couldn't seem to pick his jaw up off the floor after seeing Maggie emerge from the trees. Mason had nearly fallen off of the railing he perched himself on from laughter at his first mate and excitement from this whole event.

Maggie looked upon the two men with determined eyes. "I need to join your crew! Please! I want to sail under your flag and sail far away from here!"

Lucas and Mason both looked at each other and flashed a quick grin.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming back. I didn't want to sail out of here without a crew mate after all. Now hurry up and grab a bunk because we're heading out" Mason yelled with a chuckle and a satisfied smile on his face.

**Disclaimer:** Just as a little disclaimer this is my first fic and I am not typically a writer so my skills as a writer are shaky at best. Something to note with this story, the entire story will not be told from Maggie's pov. I did that in this chapter as a way to introduce both her as a character and as a way to introduce the reader to the crew as well. This fic is from the perspective of the whole crew and not one character in particular. I don't know how often I will be updating this story, it may end up as just a test but I have at least one more chapter written. Ideas and criticism of the story or characters is always welcome. Thank you.


	2. High Seas Stories

**Episode 2 - High Seas Stories**

The sky grew darker as the star pirate crew along with their newest member pulled away from the island of Winoah. Maggie helped Lucas adjust the sails according to their captain's orders while captain and navigator Mason charted the course they would be sailing for the next few days.

"It's going to be a good while before our next landfall so I hope you're okay with life on the sea Maggie" Mason yelled from the helm of the ship.

"I grew up in a port town don't worry, I'm well accustomed to life on a boat" she replied.

After a few hours of sailing into the night it had grown to about midnight and the captain called his crew below deck for some food. Mason called to Lucas to grab some meat they had preserved before their stop in Winoah while he himself started to prepare a soup.

Maggie couldn't help but notice that crew had plenty of food on board for two men even without the supplies her and Chuck had gathered earlier that day.

"Mason, if you two had all of this food then why did you send me back into town to get more, clearly this would have been enough food for the two of you for at least a week." She questioned.

"Sure we had plenty for the two of us but because we were going to be taking on a third crew member we needed to pick up extra just to be prepared" the captain answered.

"What do you mean because you were…" Maggie stopped herself, "you couldn't have possibly known I was going to ask to join your crew!"

By this point all three pirates were stuffing their faces with the soup which Mason had prepared. It was edible but he was certainly no chef.

"I could tell as soon as I saw how you looked at those marines in the bar that you'd make a fine addition to our crew and I never let myself believe otherwise. Now eat up, it tastes even worse cold."

Both Mason and Lucas laughed with a beer at hand while Maggie couldn't help but crack a smile at the two idiots she was getting involved with.

After the meal it was back on deck to do final checks and preps for the night ahead. After was set now that they had broken out of the rough water that was now surely surrounding Winoah and holding the marines at bay.

"Lucas it seems like a fine night to me, go below deck and grab some blankets off the empty cots, Maggie, finish tying down the supplies on the main deck and meet me up on the fore deck" Mason shouted down from the helm.

Lucas threw the pillows and blankets down onto the deck in 3 spots next to each other just as Mason and Maggie were arriving.

"Have a seat Maggie" Mason gestured to one of the 3 cushioned spots. Both Mason and Maggie lied down on the deck facing up towards the night sky.

"Tell me Maggie, have you ever looked at the stars" Mason questioned.

"Well of course I have, they are out every night."

"No but have you ever truly looked at the stars with nothing else to distract you. No lights, no sounds no outside thoughts. Right now were in the middle of the West Blue, not an island for miles and thus not a light for miles either besides those on this ship. I want you to see what the stars truly look like."

No sooner did Mason say this did Lucas finish turning out the last light aboard their ship. The light on the boat vanished and suddenly the night sky seem to light up brighter than it ever had before. The sky was littered with stars, constellations and interstellar clouds which had never seemed to exist before now splashed the sky with an array of colour.

"I can't believe this" Maggie stuttered, "I've never seen the sky so beautiful, in fact I've never seen anything so beautiful. I can't believe this kind of beauty has always been there."

"Just imagine those stars have been then shining these same beautiful lights for as long as our planet has existed, for as long as you've lived and you're only just now seeing it Maggie. This Maggie, is why we sail" mason said with a satisfied look on his face.

"I know it's a little deeper than just to see the night sky but we wanted you to see what we saw and we're hoping you'd understand our feelings" Lucas added, his eyes never leaving the stars.

The crew of three lied there for a few more minutes just taking in the sight before Maggie spoke up.

"It's funny, you knew I would join your crew and here I am on your boat, admiring the stars without another care to think of and yet you know nothing about me. All you have is a name. And I know nothing about either of you as well besides your names and an apparent starry eyed obsession."

"Well I suppose we couldn't ask for a better night for story telling now could we? What did you want to know" Mason asked.

Maggie was surprised at the captain's willingness to open up to a complete stranger. Clearly he was a very trusting man although I guess she hasn't given him any reason not to trust her.

"Well first of all I want to know how you morons intended to escape after getting yourselves arrested. What if I hadn't come, what would you have done without me?"

"Well that one is easy" Mason nodded, "both Lucas and I are devil fruit eaters. We could have broken out at any time but I wanted to wait and let you make your move."

Maggie seemed shocked. He'd said this so casually as if this hadn't been some kind of huge deal. She couldn't believe that these idiots had eaten the cursed fruits and gained their powers.

"There's no way that's true, if either of you really had eaten one of the devil fruits your bounties would be a lot higher just on pure principle. Also the marines would never have put you in such simple wooden shackles. The always put devil fruit eaters in seastone cuffs to negate their powers." Maggie paused to take a breath.

"You're right, if the Navy knew we had devil fruit powers our bounties would be considerably higher and surely they would have opted for seastone cuffs instead. For this very reason up until now both Lucas and I have kept our powers a secret from the Navy. Since we've become pirates neither of us have used out powers publicly" Mason explained

"The one down side to this whole ordeal really is the fact that because we've both eaten cursed fruits neither of us can swim. That's why you now come in."

Maggie was now secretly regretting her decision of joining the crew of probably the worst pirates she has ever met.

"You both have just been sailing all this time and neither of you could swim? Have you both always been unable to swim?"

"No" Lucas replied, "there was a time when we first set sail where only Mason had devil fruit powers, I only gained my just recently."

"Well alright then captain," The girl turned and faced him "how did you get yourself cursed?"

"I guess to answer that I have to go back quite a ways, probably to around the time when Lucas and I first met."

"We met when we were about 4 years old. Lucas never had parents, they'd either run off as pirates and them him at home or died. Maybe they were pirates and had just been captured by the Navy. Mo matter which story you chose to believe it doesn't really matter because it never seemed to bother him."

"My parents raised Lucas as their own son and as my brother. The two of us grew up as close as any two brothers could have. "

The sound of Lucas's snoring in the background showed his level of interested in hearing this story again.

"My parents owned a café in the small port town of Noman quite some miles away in the West Blue. It was a much more pirate friendly town. In fact most of our parents business came from pirates who were just passing by."

"Notably after been exposed to pirates and old sea stories in our parents café for much of our young lives Lucas and I set our sights on a life out at sea from an early age."

"We worked at the café almost every day helping our parents any way we could, cleaning dishes, taking orders you name it."

"We always loved to hear stories from the new pirates in town however in doing so we ended up taking a lot of very long breaks to listen." Mason took a pause to laugh at his sleeping brother then continued.

"Lucas and I were in constant competition on who was a better waiter. Often we were tied, breaking just ad many dishes as the other and mucking up just as many orders. It was more a competition of who could do the least damage but the pirates didn't mind."

"One day when the two of us were eight years old we asked our parents if we could take the day off from working in the café and spend it out by the docks. We asked for the day off as if we ever actually worked" Mason chuckled.

"Instead of just listening to the stories told in the café Lucas and I want to go out to the dock and play pirates which we hadn't done for a lone time."

"We had noticed the day prior a large pirate ship had docked on the western side of the port. Lucas and I saw this as a great opportunity to pretend we were pirates on a real, large pirate ship."

"Once we were sure that none of the pirates were still aboard the ship we climbed our way on and pulled out our wooden cutlasses and had an epic duel on the deck of a real pirate ship. It was every kids dream."

"It wasn't long though before we started to hear voices approaching the ship from the docks. We both panicked and the two of us ran below deck making a series of confusing turns until we burst through a door slamming it behind and taking a moment to breathe."

"After a few seconds of heavy breathing we both realized what room we had chosen as our hiding place. It was the pirates treasure room."

"At first I think we both panicked because how bad would it have looked had those pirates come into their treasure storage and found these two little kids, we would have looked like thieves."

"Luckily after a few minutes of tense waiting it seemed like nobody had followed us or knew we were aboard the ship."

"Naturally we did was any two eight year olds would do, we started to dig through the mountains of gold, silver and jewels."

"We had no intention of stealing any of it we just wanted to look at it all, wear the crowns that were way too big for our heads and put on the rings which we could fit three of our fingers into."

"After a short wile of digging through the many piles of gold I saw something out of place in a nearby pile, something not plated in gold or silver and no encrusted with beautiful gems. It was a small wooden box hanging out of the side of a stack of goblets and coins."

"I opened the box to find only a pale green fruit covered in a waving pattern and a tiny curled stem."

"A devil fruit" Maggie interjected.

"Correct but in all of the stories Lucas and I had heard from the pirates at the café never had either of us heard of the devil fruits. Pirates talked about men with unhuman abilities but never mentioned where they got those abilities."

"I turned around and presented the small fruit to Lucas producing a laugh from the both of us. He told me that it probably awful and that he'd bet me a days pay from the café that I wouldn't eat it."

"You ate a devil fruit because of a dare!? My captain really is the biggest moron in the West Blue" Maggie shouted.

"Regardless" Mason interjected, "I did in fact eat it and he was right, it tasted awful. Not only that but I felt like I needed to throw up immediately after stomaching the thing."

"Lucas could tell something was wrong and decided he needed to get me off this ship and back to our parents at the café."

"By the time we had gotten back onto the deck of the ship I could hardly walk and Lucas was having to support most of my weight. He tried his best to keep me up but as soon as reached it I fell through the gap in the ship's railing left by the bridge back to the dock."

"I was sinking quickly to the shallow sea floor. Up until now both Lucas and I has been natural swimmers, another thing we often competed in. When Lucas saw I hadn't immediately come up after falling in he must have been very concerned."

"Lucas jumped in after me and managed to haul be back up onto the dock. Surely by now the two of us had drawn quite a bit of attention from passerbies. A familiar sailor from town who saw the commotion helped carry me back to the café."

"I had fallen unconscious by this point so if you want any more detail on what happened next you'll have to wake up sleepy head over there. Needless to say he told them about everything that had happened and I guess it didn't take long for them to diagnose what had happened, I'd unknowingly eaten a cursed fruit."

"Well which one did you eat, what powers did it give you" Maggie asked now fully immersed in in Mason's story.

"I had eaten the Toppū Toppū no Mi, the Gust-Gust Fruit. It's a paramecia type fruit that gives me control over the winds and breezes."

Mason sent a quick gust of cold wind over his brother's sleeping body jolting him awake.

"Oh so we're already at the part where you ate the fruit" Lucas grogged.

"We are" Mason replied, "would you care to finish the story from here?"

"Sure, why not. I'm sure she's pretty tired of hearing you talk about yourself anyways" Lucas answered.

"Well if he didn't mention Mason and I used to compete in just about everything, one thing being our work in the café. Up until now it was pretty even but once he gained the powers of that Gust-Gust Fruit the scales tipped way in his favor."

"Whenever I would have normally tipped and fallen he could use his wind powers to help keep his balance. He could safely throw drinks and plates across the café knowing that he could keep them all upright with his wind and not let them break."

"These unfair competitions are what drove me to pursue my interests as an inventor and engineer. I was going to invent things that would put me ahead of his stupid wind powers. I had no clue what I was doing at the time but I was determined at least."

"After many years of trying and failing I just couldn't out do Mason, however in the process of competing we both improved our skills greatly. Mason learned how to better control his wind powers and I became a much more confident and capable inventor."

"Soon the two of us became famous in town as some kind of crazy waiter brothers. We were more like entertainment to the customers, and it brought our parents a ton of business outside of just the usual pirates."

"We continued to grow and learn in the same manner until about three months ago when we decided it was finally time to set sail and follow those foolish childhood dreams of becoming famous pirates."

"We had both turned 20 so we were the same age but Mason was always a natural leader so there wasn't much of an argument of which one of was going to be the captain."

"We set sail from our home town under the name of the Noman Pirates on a ship quite a bit smaller than this one and only a childhood dream to follow. The town and our parents surely didn't want to see us go."

"So when you and Mason set sail only he had eaten a cursed fruit" Maggie questioned.

"Indeed, I received my devil fruit powers much more recently and it was a much less exciting tale. To put it simply this wasn't originally our boat and the previous owners still had some valuable on board including a devil fruit."

"The fruit I ate was the Būmu Būmu no Mi otherwise known as the Boom-Boom Fruit. Another paramecia class fruit but it's a bit hard to explain. It allows me to turn certain materials or mechanisms into bombs simply by touching them. I can blow them up whenever I want and it's not detectable at all."

"Like I said I only recently gained the power and I'm still trying to learn how to use it, which is another reason the Navy doesn't know about it."

"So wait, you can control the wind and you can blow things up and neither of you are using these powers in battle? That makes no sense to me those seem incredibly useful" Maggie stated.

"There really hasn't been a need to. Both Lucas and I are quite handy with guns and swords plus now that Lucas has his own workshop here on the ship he's made plenty of other useful gadgets to use in fights" Mason re-entered the conversation.

"We're only small time pirates right now" Lucas added, "no need to let the government know just yet what we can do."

"Still seems dumb to me but I'm not the one with devil fruit powers. I guess my only question left is why the name change. If you left your home town and set sail as the Noman Pirates why change it" Maggie inquired.

"You're looking at the reason right now. About a month ago Lucas and I found ourselves in the middle of an incredibly strong storm. I tried my best to keep us upright with my wind powers but the tiny ship we set sail in could hardly handle the rough seas and weather."

"I couldn't swim and Lucas wouldn't be able to save me with how the rough the seas were. All of our lanterns had shattered and most of our supplies had been washed off the deck by the storm or destroyed but when the storm passed that night we were both alive."

"Most sailors wait to be greeted by the morning's sun to know the storm has passed but that storm had settled in the middle of the night for us. It left us in complete darkness out in the middle of the sea."

"That night, for the first time, Lucas I truly saw the stars and it was indescribable. From that point on as captain I deemed a change to our Roger and we then became the Star Pirates."

"Anyways it's getting late and cold. We still have several days of travel until we get to the next stop so you both grab a bunk and get some rest. I'll watch the ship's course for just a bit longer. Goodnight."

"Goodnight captain" Lucas and Maggie said in unison.

**Author's notes: **Backstory and more backstory. Both this chapter and the next will mainly be focused on backstory to help connect with the three characters before moving on too far. Once again all feedback is welcome.


	3. The West Blue Marksman Division

**Chapter 3 - The West Blue Marksman Division**

The crew was jolted awake by the sudden sounds of cannon fire and explosions in the water. Sometime while the three members of the Star Pirates were asleep a single Navy ship broke out of the current storm surrounding Winoah and had been slowly gaining ground on the Pirates' ship. Navy ships were much faster and better designed than the dingy of a ship the crew was currently occupying. It did not take long to make up the distance between the two ships.

All three crew members jumped from their bunks and rushed out on deck to see exactly what had woken them up. They were greeted by water spray caused by cannonballs hitting only yards from their ship.

"Damn it were not prepared for this kind of battle. I was hoping we'd be able to put enough sea between us and the Navy to reach the next island" Mason growled rubbing both of his temples.

"No use complaining, they're here now and we have to deal with them" The captain continued.

"How do you plan on doing that" Maggie questioned, "We have no way of sinking a ship that size especially with only three people."

"We don't have to sink it" Lucas entered. "We just have to immobilize them. You're right there's no way to take them on but if we can stop them from chasing after us we won't need to."

"I agree Lucas and the best way to do that is by taking out their main mast" Mason said. "I have a plan but first things first we need to stop those cannons. If we start taking hits from those cannons it won't matter what we do to stop them."

"Maggie you seem to be pretty proficient with a gun, how good of a sharpshooter are you exactly" Mason asked.

"I was the best marksman on Winoah" Maggie answered.

"Well I hope you're right, here take this rifle. I need you to stop those cannons and that means taking out the guys firing them" Mason ordered.

"Right now we can't afford to get hit which also means we can't afford to play nice. This isn't like is was back at the Navy base, you're a pirate now, I need you to shoot to kill."

"Leave it to me captain" Maggie replied. She knew times were different, there were no rubber bullets in that rifle.

"Lucas go below deck and grab a cannonball, we need to take out that main mast and these marines dead in the water." Mason was starting to sound like a real captain for once.

Maggie took a pause from her task, "How do you intended to fire that thing? Last I checked there isn't a single cannon aboard this ship, why do we even have cannonballs?"

"The cannonballs were another gift from the ships previous owners and don't you worry about that you just need to focus on those cannons" Mason assured.

One by one the cannon operators fell. Maggie really was the best marksman on the island, picking off navy soldiers from incredible distances. With every shot the cannons became quieter and less frequent. She was buying her crew mates the time they so desperately needed.

Lucas resurfaced from the lower deck hauling two small cannonballs. He placed both on deck waiting for orders from his brother.

"Alright Lucas are you ready to take this thing down?" Mason questioned rhetorically. "These are the gunpowder filled one's right?"

"Yeah they are what do you have planned Mason" Lucas wondered.

"Well now is as good a time as any to give the Navy a taste of what we can do together with our powers." With a huge smile on his face Mason continued, "I need you to do your thing with these cannonballs. Hitting the mast won't be enough we need to do real damage to it to take it down."

"I think I like where this is going" Lucas responded and with nothing more than a touch the bomb had been set. At any time Lucas could activate this trap and blow the cannonball up with great force.

Lucas handed the now primed bomb to Mason or seemed to handle the heavy cast iron ball with great ease. Mason had created a dense air pocket of air between his hand and the ball allowing him to lift the ball with minimal effort.

Mason lifted the cannonball up to his shoulder in a sort of shot put stance ready to hurl it towards the Navy boat. With a quick thrust of his arm and a focused release of the air pocket he had created Mason hurled the ball with similar power to that of an actual cannon.

Because of the way he released the ball it has a tremendous more amount of spin than a normal cannon shot allowing it to fly farther, straighter and with considerable more energy behind it. Using air currents he veered the ball slightly to the left to make up for his less than perfect aim. Because of the balls sheer momentum he could only make slight variations in its trajectory but that's all it needed.

"Alright Lucas as soon as it makes contact with the mast I need you to set that thing off and blow their mast away, once that is done it should be easy sailing away from them" Mason said while watching his plan take effect.

By this point most of the cannons had stopped firing and Maggie had run out of ammo in the single rifle but their shipped remained unscathed and their plan was in midflight.

The cannonball launched by the Star Pirates struck the Navy ship's main mast at the back end. As soon as the wood started to splinter from the massive force behind the cast iron ball Lucas clenched his first and detonated his bomb. With tremendous force the cannonball exploded while still digging though the mast sending small wooden splinters flying across the ship. The mast broke in two at that point and toppled forward onto another smaller mast taking it with it.

The navy ship was now as good as stopped on the water. The remaining sails on the ship would hardly be able to move the massive ship, they would have to wait to be rescued by another boat being this far out at sea.

"Well I grabbed two cannonballs expecting to need both but that worked a lot better than I ever imagined it would" Lucas said pleased with himself and his abilities.

"I will admit I didn't think that would actually work" Mason said with a laugh that meant he wasn't joking. "Now it's time we put some distance between us those remaining cannons"

Maggie and Lucas quickly secured the sails while Mason, eager to keep using his powers sent a huge gale of wind into the back of their sails propelling their ship forward at a respectable pace.

With the threat out of range and their destination reaching ever nearer the crew took a moment to breathe and relax.

"Maggie that was incredible! How did you learn to shoot like that, the other ship had to have been over 100 meters away that's insane" Lucas complimented.

"I told you guys I was the best marksman on Winoah. It's probably all I ever did back home when I was growing up. Much like yours and Mason's competitions back at your parent's café I also grew up in competition with my best friend" Maggie responded.

"His name was Mott, both of our parents were in the Navy, all different branches. I stayed with my Nan and Mott with his grand-parents whom you met Chuck and Sharry, the bar owners."

"There were few other kids on the island so we were easy best friends. We played all kinds of games at first but it eventually evolved into skipping stones and throwing rocks. Who could skip it the most times or who could throw it the farthest, innocent little games."

"When we got bored of simply skipping them and throwing them we decided to give it an objective, who could hit the can. When we got real good at that we'd move the can farther then farther again. We'd keep moving the can back and forth until it became stale and we needed something knew."

"Chuck noticed our little competitions and he got together with my Nan and they bought us both a couple of slingshots. We went through the same process with those as we did the stones. Moving targets and now we even put other obstacles around them to make the shot harder."

"We out grew those kids toys quickly, honestly slingshots are not meant for real combat, we needed something a bit stronger. Both Mott and I saved up our money and went into town to buy us each a trainer bow and arrow set."

"At first it started like the others, just simply range an accuracy but with the bows we added new elements. We started shooting while moving or hitting moving targets. The best of all was hitting swinging targets while moving but sure enough we both mastered it neither one of us getting ahead of the other."

"We tested our new skills on small game and started hunting in the woods to the north of town. Nothing impressive but just another way for us to improve out skills."

"After we had both turned fifteen Chuck wanted to see just how far we could take our skills. He went out and bought us both these nice rifles so we could enter the real world of marksmanship. However this is when Mott and I started to notice a difference in skill."

"It was a lot easier for me to grasp the concept behind guns than it was for Mott. It took him several day longer than me to complete our standard target practice and even longer when we moved to harder tests like the moving targets, I really don't know what happened with him."

"He was obviously frustrated about it too but he tried not to show. Up until now we had been neck and neck but now it was easy to see which one of us was excelling as a marksman. Don't get me wrong he was still an outstanding sharpshooter, easily the second best on the island."

"Now we reach the part where the marines come into play. There is a special division of marines in the West Blue known as the Marksman Division. It was exactly what it sounds like, a special branch of the marines focused on people who were incredibly skilled in the use of ranged weapons."

"Mott and I made it our goals early on to both become good enough to join the Marine's Marksman Division and at the rate we were advancing that wouldn't be an issue."

"Every year they held tryouts on many of the nearly islands. Because of our Navy Base Winoah always held one of these tryouts. If you placed at the top you were likely to be accepted into the Navy under the Marksman Division."

"Both Mott and I decided to enter one of the tryouts when we were both 18 years old that way we were both sure to make it."

"It consisted of two parts a physical examination which was just a standard marine obstacle course consisting of crawls, runs and climbs."

"The second part was the actual marksman portion. You had to run a course with both a rifle and pistol. During the course you had to use each at their own specific time. You were tested on two criteria during this part: your aim which was determined by how many shots it took you too complete the course and where those shots landed on the targets, and speed, how long it took you to complete the course.

"There was also a mandatory reload time on the rifle to test your reload speed. It had to be quick in order to keep your time score high."

"With skills like yours and Mott's I assume you both did very well on all of those tests" Lucas chimed.

"You're right we did but everything that came after the tryouts is a bit difficult to explain" Maggie admitted.

"Come on Maggie I don't know why you're worrying so much, you did better than most of the guys on the physical test and you were easily the best shot" Mott assured her. "You got the best time out of anybody and you nearly got a perfect score on the targets."

"I know Mott but I'm always nervous but I guess you're right" Maggie replied. "You did incredibly well too, your reload time was insane I don't know how I beat you in time overall."

"We're both going to make it into the Marksman Division I can't believe it, the results should be posted in just a few minutes" Mott said bit a huge smile on his face.

"Hey when we are both in the Marines maybe we'll be able to see our parents a little more often than the bimonthly visits" Maggie noted excitedly.

"Haha wouldn't that be a real treat but remembered we're joining the marines for us and not for them"

"Don't worry Mott I didn't forget."

A Marine Soldier walked by and pasted a piece of paper to a nearby billboard, the results from that day's tryouts. Maggie and Mott walked over behind him to get a first glance and the final standings but the results were more than surprising to say the least.

At the top of this list was Mott's name followed by a few other locals. Maggie ran her finger down the page to find hers sitting at the number seven spot. Surely there had been some kind of mistake with the scores, she should have been top three at the very least.

"We have to find whoever is in charge, there is no way these results are correct" Mott exclaimed. "There's no way you should be below and especially not 6 spots below me. Not to mention the fact that you were so much better than all of these guys ahead of you. I mean for god's sake he hardly even made it over the rope wall"

"I'm sure it was an honest mistake Mott, no need to get so worked up, we just need to find the officer in charge and get this sorted out" Maggie said with a little worry in her voice.

"You, soldier, where is the officer in charge of this year's tryouts, there is is a mistake on these results and we need to straighten some things out" Mott asked as calmly as he could.

The soldier pointed them to an officers tent just around the corner but assured them there were no mistakes on the listing. The nameplate on the tent read "Officer Dixon."

"Sir! We need to have a talk!" Mott barged in with his voice raised. Neither are good when approaching a Marine Officer.

"Oh Mott! It's good to see you, your performance today was outstanding. It has been a while since we've seen such a promising recruit congratulations on top spot."

"That's exactly what we need to talk about. I didn't deserve that top spot and you know it. Maggie was obviously the best candidate at the tryouts today, better than me and everyone else you placed above her. There must be some kind of mistake when you were evaluating scores"

"Oh I promise Mott there were no mistakes you certainly were the most deserving of the top spot. In fact I think everyone was completely deserving of where we placed them. Including Ms. Maggie."

"Were you even watching her performance? She passed the physical with ease and scores highest in both criteria of the marksman…" but Officer Dixon cut Mott off short.

"Let me tell you something boy. I take pride in the Marine's Marksman Division. I have been a leading officer here since its founding. The West Blue Marksman Division has always been and will always be comprised of the West Blue's best male marksman."

"No female has ever joined out ranks and as long as I am leading these tryouts none ever will. Ms. Maggie you are a fine sharpshooter but you have no place on the battlefield with the other marksman. However with your kind of talent I'm sure the Navy's Marine division would be happy to take you in as a recruit. I'll even put in a good word for you" Dixon said with a smirk.

"I came here to join your division and I am not going to settle for anything less. If I'm not good enough to join the West Blue's Marksman Division because I'm a girl then so be it but know this, I will be a better sharpshooter than anyone in the Navy and you're the reason I will never join" Maggie said turning around to leave the tent.

"Please Maggie wait" Mott yelled from behind her, he chased her out of the tent. "Just listen. Clearly these guys are idiots but maybe you should take him up on his offer. If you join as a marine then maybe you can work your way up and transfer with the recommendation of someone higher than Dixon then he would be forced to accept."

"Hell no! I would never accept a favor from someone like him and I will not join the marines. We had a promise, we would join the Marksman Division and we'd settle for nothing less. I don't plan on breaking that promise, I will not settle for less."

"Please just reconsider Maggie. I don't want to be in the division without you. We've always been together and trained together."

"You don't have to be there without me, you don't have to be there at all. I actually can't believe you are still considering joining that ass" Maggie shouted.

"Well yeah I do still plan on joining" Mott said. "This has been our dream and now I have a chance to fulfill. I can't let something like this hold me back from that."

"Unbelievable. You're no better than they are. In fact it sounds like you're going to fit right in. I hope you make plenty of friends in the division because you won't have any left here waiting for you."

"And that was the last time Mott and I talked. The Marksman Division makes regular visits to Winoah, weekly even. Even so over this past year we never talked after that day. He joined the Navy and I didn't and that's all that mattered."

"But no you're a pirate" Mason broke in. "You sail under a pirate flag and oppose the same Navy who turned you down. I wonder what Mott with think when he finds out."

"Oh I'm sure he already knows" Maggie responded. "I'm pretty sure he is the one who sold me out to the Navy as being the person who helped you escape. He knew immediately that some unknown person handy with guns and helping screw over the Navy would have been me."

"Well I guess that settles that, but I wonder if you won't still have remorse if we ever met him on the battlefield" Mason noted.

"I guess we can't know until it happens but as of right now I am loyal to this crew and this boat and no one else" Maggie replied.

"Hmm well if story time is over we need to start prepping the ship. We make landfall in tomorrow but we still have quite a ways to go" Lucas chimed in. "I think it's obvious here that Maggie is on our side and even more obvious that she's one dangerous person with a gun."

"I agree with Lucas, you are a welcomed addition to the crew Maggie and hopefully you can show those Marksman Division asses just how much better than them you are."

"Thank you guys. This means more than you know but I've never been one for sappy stories so let's get back to our goal at hand which is the next island" Maggie thanked the two pirates. "Tomorrow we land in Lannery Cape."

**Author's notes: **More backstory. Next update may not come for a few more days hopefully not too long. As always comments and ideas are always welcome!


	4. Lannery Cape

**Episode 4 - Lannery Cape**

After another day at sea the crew of the Star Pirates are about to dock for the first time since leaving Maggie's hometown of Winoah. Mason shouted down to the lower deck as soon as he saw land; their destination was Lannery Cape and it was just visible on the morning's horizon.

Lannery cape was kind of a pirate's paradise, not many navy ships visited the cape because of its location being quite a bit of course of any of the usual Navy routes through this part of the West Blue.

"Time to wake up you two, I'll need some help bringing us into port" The captain shouted down to the sleeping quarters below deck.

Both missing crew members had just surfaced from the lower deck when something caught Mason's eye. "Three Navy ships are docked at the cape, how strange" Mason thought out loud. "This is supposed to be a Navy free cape, I wonder why there are so many of their boats here."

After not a lot of thought Mason decided it was best just to pull the ship in. "We'll be docking at the South Docks, hopefully we can stay out of the eye of those three navy ships at the North Dock. The South Dock is nearer to the markets anyways so that should work out. You two secure the docking lines and I'll bring us in."

A few quick turns of the wheel and a favorable gust of wind on a very flat day helped bring their small boat to a gentle stop at one of the few open docks. Lucas and Maggie tied down the docking lines and the crew was ready to head inland.

"Lucas, normally we'd never do this but I have a bad feeling about those Navy ships. Bring in the Roger from the main mast, I don't want to come back to a swarm of marines when we are finished in the markets." Lucas agreed and rolled up the Roger, storing in the Captain's Cabin which had been converted to a small workshop for Lucas's inventing.

The markets were bustling with pirates and residents alike. The stalls were mainly selling trinkets and ship parts, neither of which the crew needed although Mason's inner kid really flared up around some of the dumber trinkets. After looking through stalls for quite some time they couldn't seem to find the food market which is what they were really after.

After weaving in and out of the crowds and avoiding lurking marines where they could the crew found their way into a back alley bar called "The Broken Oar."

"We'll just stop in here for a quick drink and to ask a few questions. Hopefully somebody can point us in the right direction" Mason explained to his crew.

The bar was clearly a pirate favourite. Not a single patron of the bar had a full mouth of teeth or a blood alcohol level below "I won't remember this tomorrow."

The three pirates sit at the end of the bar as to not cause a commotion with the regulars. They flag down the bartender for a few pints. After receiving their drinks Mason calls the bartender over to the side for a few minutes.

"Excuse me, we just docked this morning, can you answer a few questions for us" Masked asked hoping he wasn't stepping out of place.

The bartender looked around the room at all of the drunk and happy faces and moved in towards the crew. "How can I help you kids" He said with a smile.

"Well first I was very curious about all of those Navy ships docked on the north side" Mason questioned. A while back a few guys told us that this cape is generally Navy free."

"Normally those men would have been telling the truth, we're off route for most Navy ships so interactions with the marines are few and far between, however I guess a handful of pirates stirred up some trouble on a nearby island. The Navy figured this would be their next stop so they had a couple ships come off their normal routes and the three ships docked yesterday."

"Oh any big names? Seems like a lot of fuss out of the navy for a few pirates" Mason noted.

"No big names" the bartended answered, "just a couple of nobodies who did just enough to piss off the wrong people. With this many ships I honestly feel bad for the rookies if they ever make it here."

"Do you have any clue what they did to get all of this attention from the Navy" Mason questioned further."

"Apparently they got themselves caught by marines on a nearby island and a day before their trial the three of them broke out and made a run for sea. Just in this morning says they took down a Navy boat which was following them from the original island which has stirred up extra trouble around here."

All three pirates sank back in their stools a bit after realizing that this commotion had been about the three of them. Trying his best not to show any reaction on his face Mason continued the questioning. "We have just one more question. We're looking to head out of here as soon as we can, can you direct us to the food market here at the port so we can resupply the ship?"

"Leaving so soon? Most pirates tend to find excuses to stay as long as possible" The bartender responded.

"We don't want to get in the middle of this marine business, we're only rookies ourselves, plus we have some places we need to get to in the fairly near future" Mason answered.

Nodding his head is acceptance the bartender drew up a map on a scrap piece of paper and walked Mason through the directions. The crew finished their drinks and started to head out of the bar and back to the stalls. When they opened the door to leave a younger boy came barreling through holding a stack of papers in hand.

"The new wanted posters are in with all new pirates and bounties. They even put out new ones for those pirates the marines are currently looking for" the boy shouted across the room.

The boy handed the stack to the bartender or slowly started to finger through the usual suspects. He wasn't too curious about the bigger names right now, he wanted to find the posters for the new trouble makers.

At the bottom of the stack were the three posters of the troublemakers who brought all of this Navy attention to Lannery Cape. The bartender spread the three posters out along the counter in front of his so he could get a better look.

He took a close look over all three posters and just stared for a second. He took in a deep breath before releasing it again in a hardy fit of laughter and a bright smile. "Those damn kids have a ways to go" he thought.

Mason the Astronomer – 12,000,000 Beli

Techie Lucas – 10,000,000 Beli

Maggie Allister – 8,500,000 Beli

The crew had slipped out of the bar long before their wanted posters had found their way from the bottom of the stack. Now they just needed to follow the directions to the market and get some supplies unnoticed and haul them back to the ship. Easier said than done.

The crew stopped by a small shop on the way there and picked up a hooded jacket each hoping they could conceal their identity enough to slip in and out of the markets and back to sea.

The crew found themselves nervously dodging marines and making several detours in an attempt to stay hidden which only led the off track from the directions they had received.

The crew stood in an alley for a minute trying to regroup and figure out which way was going to lead them to the markets safely, once there they could hopefully hide amongst the crowds or that was the plan anyways.

"You don't honestly think you will go unnoticed do you" a foreign voice said coming from a nearby corner. "A couple of jackets with the hoods pulled up can't hide your faces indefinitely, you'll be found in no time."

"Who do you think you are" Lucas shouted back at the voice. "All we need to do is get our supplies and leave, it's not like we plan on sticking around."

A girl rounded the corner and started to speak again. "You really are naïve aren't you? There's close to a hundred marines on this cape right now whose only purpose is to track you three down not to mention now your faces are about to be plastered in ever bar and store in town."

"You didn't think this plan through at all did" she continued. "Did you ever once stop to consider that it's gotten late and most of the food vendors have already closed for the night? The market crowds have thinned out and you would be incredibly easy to spot."

The crew mates looked at each other embarrassed that they hadn't once stopped to consider the time. Whoever this girl was she was right.

"Oh stop looking at each other like that and just follow me, I'm willing to help. I can get you a place to stay for the night and then I'll help you tomorrow with getting your supplies." The girl walked past the crew and took a right down another alley whistling for the three to follow.

Nobody in the crew had a clue what was going on but this girl seemed like their only hope so they followed. How did she find them and better yet why was she helping them if they were the ones the marines were looking for. Surely she'd want to turn them in and get some kind of compensation.

The girl stopped at a small building complex and made her way inside, the crew obediently followed. "I'm on the second story, you all with have to stay with me for the night if you plan on keeping out of the Marines sight."

The girl was short, much shorter than the doorframe of the room she was just entering. She wore dark blue high wasted shorts and a tucked in red and white striped shirt with white boots. The right side of her head was a shaved down and very dark brown with much longer and lighter hair on top and on the left side.

The crew entered the room behind her and were greeted by quite a sight: Mirrors, wigs, clothes and shelves of beauty supplies taking up all available wall space.

"My name is Tori" She said without being asked. "I work at a beauty salon here on the cape, this is just some of my supplies from work."

The crew was still astounded by the amount of equipment in the room and this was only some of her supplies. The equipment was cool and all but it didn't answer why Tori was helping them.

Maggie spoke up, "Look we really appreciate the help back at the alley and it's very nice of you to let us stay here Tori but why the hell are you intentionally helping the most wanted pirates on the cape at the moment?"

"Maggie isn't it" The girl started, "I saw you all leave The Broken Oar earlier today and when I went in I say the Bartended laughing with your posters on the counter. I figured you guys would never make it on your own."

"There are a few reasons to help you guys, some for personal gain and some not. First of all there is a certain pirate crew here on the cape that has over stayed their welcome and hopefully I can use the attention you all brought to get rid of them."

"So you want to use us is what you're saying" Lucas asked.

"You could say that yes but it's not as bad as you think" Tori responded. "But now that we all seem settled in why don't I explain tomorrow plan briefly."

"I suppose we don't have any other options" Mason noted. "What is the plan Tori?"

"Well as you can guess I'm pretty good with disguises. Better than a couple of hooded jackets at the very least. Tomorrow I'm going to set the three of you up with some good new disguises and you'll be able to roam the streets and markets freely without notice from the Navy."

"And what about this plan of yours to catch this other pirate crew" Maggie asked skeptically.

"Oh don't worry I'll explain all of that as the day progresses, just follow my plan and we'll let the marines do all of the work for us" Tori replied.

The crew seemed content with the plan for the moment at least. It was their only option after all. They agreed to participate and Tori filled them in on the rest of the plans for tomorrow events.

Mason, Lucas and Maggie woke up early the next morning and Tori immediately went to work on them. She was incredibly talented working even the weathered faces of the pirates with incredible skill. Before long she had finished at the crew was ready.

Tori used her cosmetic know how to age the pirates. Mason now resembled a very old man, long white unruly hair and a beard to match. Pants that rode up as high one could think possible and his face was covered in wrinkles as if he'd been on earth for centuries. He was completely unrecognizable.

Maggie and Lucas had similar results but they looked more like the old man's children who were helping him in his old age which was the whole point. Not for a moment would you have linked these three middle aged or older adults with the wanted pirates on the posters.

"Wow Tori this is incredible, the Navy will never find us in disguises like these" Lucas belted out as if it was okay for others to know they were in disguise.

"I can make you look the part but it's up to you to act the part. You really need to sell the look we plan on getting today's goal accomplished, now go and get your supplies like we rehearsed and I'll be keeping an eye out and waiting for part two" Tori ordered.

The three now in disguise Star Pirates made their way through the food vendors stalls and accumulated a ton of food which should last that for a long time to last. They'd managed to gather too much food and water for them to possibly carry back to the ship and that was part of the plan.

Maggie slowly approached two marine members who had been watching the market since they arrived early that morning and tapped one on the shoulder.

"Excuse me you two, I'm sure you're all very busy but my family and I was wondering if you'd be able to help us with something" Maggie motioned towards Lucas and Mason who were standing about thirty feet away by some crates.

"Oh, well of course we can Ma'am what's the issue?"

"Well my brother, father and I came into the market to get some food and drink for a trip we have soon but my brother and I can't possibly carry all of it and our dad is in no shape for heavy lifting. I was hoping you two marines would be able to help carry the last of our food back to the ship."

The marine looked over at the old man and his son standing next to a few crates and barrels then over to his partner. "We'd be happy to help miss just lead us to where your ship is."

The two marines each grabbed a large crate of supplies while Maggie and Lucas managed to carry the rest. The led the marines out of the market and to the South Dock where their ship had been docked since yesterday.

With no Roger flying above it there was no way to tell it had actually been a pirate ship. The marines set the goods on the ground and asked if the kids would need help putting them on the ship. Lucas and Maggie politely declined the offer and helped their elderly father aboard the ship to better sell the story.

The marines were now out of sight and the crew was able to move all of the food and drink aboard the ship in no time. It would have been a total pain to carry all of that from the markets back to the ship by themselves.

Lucas and Mason finished loading up the ship while Maggie ran back into the market to find Tori and continue their plan.

Tori called her up on the mini snail phone she had given Maggie earlier this morning. "Everything seemed to go well with the marines so part one should be over now we just have to wait a bit and move on to part two."

"Are you sure this plan is going to work" Maggie questioned. "The marines are pretty dense but it looked like they set up some kind of blockade just outside the harbor. I think they are checking all passing ships."

"Don't worry Maggie that all will be taken care of. Right now Lucas is going around some of the shops looking for some new equipment for you guys to use. Guns, swords, rifles, stuff like that and Mason is working on a special part of the plan. You just wait for me to give the signal."

**Author's notes: **I decided to split this section into two part so part two of Lannery Cape should be up soonish. Because I split it up the next chapter may or may not end up being shorter than the 3,000 word standard I've been setting on these chapters. Unfortunately after Lannery Cape updates may start to slow down just simply because I may need some time to work out further plots. Thanks all who are reading this and as always I appreciated any comments.


	5. Lannery Cape Part 2

**Episode 5 - Lannery Cape Part 2**

A few hours had passed and not a single word had come back from any of her crew nor had she heard from or seen Tori. Just as Maggie was getting second thoughts she started receiving a call on the mini snail phone.

"Maggie it's Tori, I think now is a good time to go through with part two. I found the two marines from earlier, they are just west of the fish market. Mason and Lucas are all prepped to go so once this is done you all can get out of here but not before I find out the results of our efforts."

"Alright, I'll let you know once I've finished part two so you will have to keep us updated on the results" Maggie responded.

Maggie ran up to the familiar marines from earlier today, completely out of breath and sweating.

"You're the lady from earlier right? Why were you running what's happened" asked the guard she had first talked to.

"Our dad just got a call from a friend of his. His friend said that those three pirates you had been looking for are causing some trouble in a bar on the East side of town called The Turtle and Duck. You guys were so helpful today I figured you should be the first marines I let know. I hope you all can catch them."

"Thank you so much miss" The marine responded. "We've been looking for these guys for a few days but finally we've caught them."

The marine pulled out a mini snail phone from his pack and called in to his superiors that there had been a very reliable tip on the location of the Star Pirates. Not too long after they called it in did Maggie over hear an order sending every Marine in town to the East side to block off the pirates. She also heard him calling in all ships who were still floating out in the port.

The marines thanked Maggie once again and ran off in the direction of The Turtle and Duck leaving Maggie alone in the Market.

"Great job Maggie I saw it all from here" Tori said over the snail phone. "Every Marine in town is rushing towards the East side, it is beautiful and Mason just called in that all the ships are now docking on the north side next to the others."

"Wait around a minute while I go check out the damage" Tori spoke again. "Those pirates are in for quite a surprise."

Marine soldiers surround The Turtle and Duck Bar, with the freshly docked crews their numbers reach over a hundred soldiers. Preparing for a fight the men rush into the bar only to find a building full of beered up pirates.

Captain Percy Wallace and his crew had been taking up residence in this bar for the better part of three weeks now. They drank all day and caused a lot of trouble for the bar owner who happened to be a very close friend of Tori.

Wallace himself had a 25,000,000 Beli bounty and would certainly made a good capture for the marines but he wasn't the one they were after.

Not wanting to let this opportunity slip through their fingers the army of marines took Wallace and his entire crew into custody with little resistance. They were incredibly outnumbered and were either asleep or drunk beyond the cognitive ability to fight.

The crew's plan had worked. Not only had Wallace been taken into custody which was one of Tori's main goals but it had also cleared a path for the crew to freely set sail out of the cape with no Navy interference.

Tori relayed the good news to Maggie and the crew via snail phone and thanked them for their help carrying out her plan. Mason called Maggie back to the ship so they could set sail further east on the West Blue.

Maggie made her way back through the now more familiar streets of Lannery Cape's Market square and back to the South Docks where her crew had been waiting for her. Mason and Lucas were standing near the bow of the ship waiting for her return.

Their Roger had now once again been flying high from the ships main mast. Lucas helped Maggie aboard the ship with a great smile. Mason was already at the helm getting ready to chart a new course.

Maggie went inside of Lucas's workshop and washed off the makeup that was part of her disguise. Finally she had looked like her young self again, they all did.

The boat started to pull out of port and Maggie and Lucas lowered the sails. Mason's wind caught their sails and they were off to the open sea. Mason shouted orders and manned the helm and they put considerable distance between themselves and the Navy ships behind them.

"Good job everyone, we made it out of that mess better than I could have ever imagined. We have enough supplies now for a very long time" Mason was acting like a real captain.

"I think we should really be thanking that girl Tori back at the cape" Maggie included. "If not for her the three of us would have never been able leave that place so safely."

"No need to thank me dear, it was all my please" a voice came from below deck.

Maggie looked on in amazement as Tori started to climb the stairs up to the main deck from below. Lucas and Mason fell back in laughter at the surprised look on their crew mate's face.

"Somebody needs to start talking, what in the world is going on" Maggie said still in shock.

"It's simple Maggie, I'm a part of your crew now."

"It's true Maggie" Mason added. "When we stayed with Tori last, after you and Lucas had fallen asleep Tori pulled me outside and asked if as a condition of helping us escape she could join our crew. Naturally I agreed and so it was settled."

"Don't worry Maggie he didn't tell me either" Lucas noted. "After I had finished my shopping and came back to the ship I found Mason loading up some of Tori's equipment, I guess that was his secret project."

"Like I said last night" Tori started, "I had multiple reasons to help you guys out. One was to get that Wallace captured and stop him from terrorizing my friends bar but the other reason to help was because I wanted to join your crew."

"But why would you want to join a pirate crew, I thought you were a successful beauty artist back on the cape. Why would you want to leave that" Maggie inquired.

"I was a beauty artist living on a pirate cape in the middle of the West Blue. The vast majority of people were either pirates or the homeless with very few people actually looking for beauty care. The few who did were uninteresting and never changed."

"I wanted to go out to sea so I could practice and learn on other islands or even in other seas. I'd never make it on my own and I could never follow my dream if I joined the Navy in order to travel. I needed to travel the sea freely with others and be free to do what I wanted."

"With all that taken into account becoming a pirate was about my best and only option and I was totally okay with that. After hearing the stories and meeting you all I realized that this would be my best chance to go out to sea so I asked Mason to join your crew."

"Well I certainly have no objections" Maggie said with a smile. "It would be nice to tone the masculinity down a bit here and maybe teach these guys some things on personal care."

"My only concern with joining a pirate crew is that I am just a beauty artist and I won't fare well in any kind of combat situation. Also my skills my not be incredibly useful in a pirate crew but I'm sure there will be times I can come through for you guys."

"I wouldn't worry about all that" Lucas entered. "Besides that actually kind of leads in to what I wanted to talk about which is what I picked up at the shops while you all were busy putting part two into action."

"I found some useful new weapons for the crew that I hope will help in the future. First things first, Maggie I found some really nice new revolvers that you can use to replace two of those single shots. Both are 6 round revolvers with a little more accuracy than those hand cannons you have strapped to your sides."

"They were fairly expensive so we I only picked up two, hopefully you can make good use of them in the future."

Maggie tested the guns in her hands, seeing how they felt holding and drawing them. She fired off a couple blanks to test the kick. "I think I've fallen in love Lucas, these pistols are incredible. I can't thank you enough."

"Oh but that's not all I got you" Lucas replied. "I also picked up a couple boxes of special bullets. I've been working on my devil fruit powers as of late and I've been testing a new way of using them. Normally I have to control when an object I've touched explodes but now I'm working on contact explosives."

"I want to be able to funnel my powers into whatever the object is and make it so it will explode upon impact instead of needing me as a detonator switch. These bullets are my first test of that."

"I thought your powers only worked on certain materials" Maggie responded. "Bullets are just solid metal, how would you be able to use your powers on that?"

"Well like I said these are special bullets. They're called tracer rounds. They have a small ignitable charge in them which is normally used to make the bullet visible as it is traveling. I can apply my powers to that small charge instead of the bullet."

"The strength of my power is determined by the size of the object and the quantity of the materials present. Being a small bullet with an even smaller charge the blast won't be significant however it will be plenty damaging if it were to say go off upon entering a humans body directly after contact."

"We only have a couple dozen of these tracer rounds so use them sparingly. Also be careful, like I mentioned I am only just starting to experiment with this part of my powers. They may or may not be unstable and that whole box of bullets could explode if we get hit by a strong enough wave."

"I'll be careful Lucas, thanks again for the gifts, I'm excited to try them out in battle."

"As for you Tori" Lucas said as he turned to the new crew mate. "After I found out you would be joining us I ran back out to the market and picked up one extra thing you may find handy."

Lucas pulled out a very long skinny box from his workshop and handed it to Tori. The box was fairly heavy in her hands and it was taller than her if she stood it straight up. Tori opened the box inside was a beautiful wax wood long staff.

"It's a long staff made from wax wood, I know you're not much of a fighter and you probably won't need to use this a lot but I wanted to make sure you had some kind of protection. Mason was pretty skilled with staffs back on Noman so he's agreed to teach you."

"I appreciate the offer Lucas but why a staff" Tori questioned.

"To put it simply it is because you're short. In any normal sword fight you would be at a complete disadvantage to the other person, besides swords don't seem like your fighting style. You need something more defensive and something that will equal the playing field with a taller opponent."

"The length of that staff will make it easy for you to keep your distance from your sword wielding opponent and with Mason training you can even use it to disarm and even take down enemies while still maintaining a safe distance. You will have to put on some muscle though, it isn't exactly light."

"That's actually very well thought out Lucas" Tori responded. "I would have never imagined using a staff for that reason, you really know your weaponry."

"I've learned a lot about weapons during my time inventing and it seemed like a perfect fit, I was actually surprised to find one so nice back there at the cape. We have plenty of time before the next island for Mason to teach you the basics."

"What did you get for yourself and Mason" Maggie questioned.

"Oh no Mason and I are fine for now. With our bounties being raised and the Navy already paying attention to us there's no need to hide our devil fruit powers much longer. I will be in the shop tinkering during these next few days maybe I'll come up with something."

"Right now however I really want to perfect this contact ignition part of my powers but don't worry I've got some great ideas brewing for the future" Lucas finished.

"Well with all of that done what do you say captain" Tori shouted to the helm.

"I say we sail this ship northeast towards new adventure. A new crew member and new smiles I'd say we all have a lot to be happy about. I propose a toast for our new member Tori and a toast for the adventure ahead" Mason riled up his crew.

"Whatever you say captain" Maggie shouted with excitement in her voice. "A toast to you Tori and a toast to future adventures." The crew poured a few drinks and smacked glasses, their family was growing rather quickly.

**Authors notes: **Conclusion to the Lannery Cape segment. Not so sure about how it came out but hopefully you all liked it. I'm in the middle of Finals Week and there wont be an update for perhaps a week or so while I get myself situated with school and work out future plots. Thanks all.


	6. Sabrin Carnival

**Episode 6 - Sabrin Carnival**

The crew had been training hard these past few days. Mason has been coaching Tori day and night on how to use her new staff. She wasn't exactly a natural but she had been picking it up well enough.

Meanwhile Lucas and Maggie had also been working together to test out the new weapons. Lucas had almost perfected his new technique and Maggie easily got a feel for her new pistols.

They didn't only train in their free time, they also bonded over childhood stories and drinks, not to mention Mason's less than stellar soup.

A new island had started to peek over the horizon and the crew was long ready for a night on solid ground and a home cooked meal. In the excitement Mason ran up to the helm and made full advantage of his control over the winds.

Tori was always impressed by Mason and Lucas's powers. Not many of the pirates back at the cape had eaten devil fruits so these abilities were still very foreign to her.

"We'll be making landfall soon, thanks to Tori we won't be needing to pick up anymore food so think of this more like a small vacation" Mason called down to his crew. "Based on the map it looks like Sabrin Island."

"Is there any threat of the Marines do you think Mason" Lucas asked.

"I don't think so, our bounties still aren't that high to be honest. They were only after us so hard back at Lannery because they knew we would be there. No reason for them to chase us all the way out here" Mason replied.

"I do wonder what Chuck and Sharry think. I'm sure news of my bounty hit back home a few days ago. I wonder what Mott is thinking" Maggie thought out loud.

"I'm sure Chuck and Sharry know that you did what you thought was right and as for Mott I hope it's a sign to him, kind of like a challenge" Mason responded.

"Haha yeah I like that, a challenge. Come get me Mott, we both know who's a better marksman and I intend to prove to the Navy just how wrong they were. Thanks Mason" Maggie said.

"Now that that's settles would you ladies mind grabbing a rope" Lucas interjected. "This ship isn't going to tie itself down."

After docking the four crewmembers found themselves in a beautiful city. The sign read Abba City on Sabrin Island. It didn't take them long to find a local restaurant they could grab a bite to eat at.

"Finally some real food" Tori screamed as if they had been on the ship for over a year.

"My soup isn't that bad" Mason joked, "but it is nice to relax a bit."

The crew soon made friends with the bartender as they always seemed to do, his name was Dalton. They talked about current events and what there was to do in town. Soon the crew had a whole list of attractions; it seemed like Abba City was the heart of Sabrin Island.

"Why do you guys say to a little fun" Mason asked to which he was answered with an overwhelming yes from his crew.

The crew left the bar early that afternoon after they'd finished with their meals and drinks. There was a carnival in town and the crew wanted to let loose.

The bright louds and sounds of the carnival were inviting and the four crew mates were just as excited as any child you could find. It was about time they let loose.

Maggie found her way over to the carnival games, this was where she excelled. Knocking cups over with a ball? Child's play for her and don't even she ran the tables at the water gun booth. It did not take long for the guys running the booths to catch on that she knew what she was doing.

"You can't ban me from the game" She yelled in protest! "I still need 130 more tickets to get that Sea King plush!" Tori escorted her protesting friend away from the games trying to prevent a scene.

Maggie was pouting on a bench outside of the booth Tori had dragged her too. "You really are acting like a kid Maggie" Tori joked. "I know what will make you feel better there, come one."

Tori pulled Maggie inside the booth, she wondered what Tori had been talking about. It was a face-painting booth, of course it was. The ladies soon emerged from the booth laughing uncontrollably. This was the most fun either of them have had in the longest time.

Maggie had her face painted like a tiger and Tori had hers painted like a butterflies. They had only met a few days but you'd never believe it, they seemed like childhood friends wandering the carnival.

Meanwhile the brothers Lucas and Mason were having their own fun. They found a strongman game, whoever could swing the hammer and get higher was the strongest. These two were always in competition as kids and some things never changed.

Lucas went first, he'd always been a bit more muscular; it came from all of his machinery work. Lucas managed to hit the puck up over three quarters of the way to the top. They game was clearly rigged he thought, I should have hit the bell.

Mason was next, he took a big swing and knocked the puck way up the tower. It had gone past where Lucas had hit his puck by a few notches. Mason let out a laugh with his victory and tried to hurry Lucas away to another attraction.

Lucas was shocked at first, how did his scrawnier brother beat him in a strength competition, he must have cheated…

"You used your wind powers didn't you" Lucas accused with an angry stare! "I have no clue what you're talking about" Mason laughed. "I would never use my powers to be you in a competition."

Lucas protested the use of Mason's powers for a little while longer but he eventually gave up, he felt no less cheated though. "Oh lighten up Lucas we're here to have fun remember" Mason said, a smile on his face.

The two groups soon met up near the food court of the carnival. The crew exchanged many smiles and laughs with each other. "I can't believe you nearly got thrown out over a stuffed animal Maggie" Lucas laughed. "Yeah well you got beat by Mason in a strength contest" She responded.

"Hey now that not fair he cheated and I'll have you know.." Lucas was cut off by Mason who had come back with some food for the crew. The entire menu was deep fried or covered in grease.

"Eat up guys, we're going to spend the night at a nearby Inn tonight. I know we all enjoyed the carnival but tomorrow we need to get going again. We only have a couple more stops left before we really hit the serious stuff. The Grand Line isn't far now" Mason spoke like he did when he was slipping into his role as captain.

The crew all looked at each other seriously know what was ahead of them. Times like these were fun but they were pirates after all and it wasn't always games and laughs. Still they all enjoyed being able to unwind for a day without threat from the marines or anyone else.

After spending a night locally just as Mason said the crew stopped once more in the bar they had the day before. Dalton once again was manning the counter. The crew was excited to see him again after the hospitality he showed them yesterday but something seemed off.

They though Dalton would be pleased to see them again but he had a worried look on his face and greeted them like he'd never seen them before.

The crew sat at the bar staring at each other then back at the once chipper bartender. "Is everything okay Dalton" Lucas was the first to speak up. "Something seems like it's bothering you."

"Oh no" Dalton replied with a stutter "everything has been fine I guess I just haven't woken up yet. Can I get you guys some drinks?"

"Uhhh yeah sure I guess" Maggie replied. "You sure everything is okay?"

Dalton seemed to ignore the question and was turned around pouring a few glasses. He still seemed nervous. He reached under the counter for a napkin and started to fiddle with it with his back turned.

"Here you guys go, a few on the house" Dalton said sliding the drinks in front of them. Mason noticed some writing on the napkin his drink was placed on. He moved his drink to another coaster and tried to read the wet napkin. "Bounty Hunters."

Mason rose his eyes from the napkin up to Dalton who just returned the look with a fake smile. Mason knew what was going on but how to approach it, he replaced the drink on his napkin and thought for a second.

"Say Dalton could you umm direct me to where that restaurant was, the one you told us about yesterday" Mason asked. "Just let me know what direction it is.

"Dalton looked at Mason with a smiled and told him that it was just north-west of here. Mason turned in his seat to look and point in that direction. "That way right? I don't remember which end of the island we're on."

Dalton shook his head yes "Yeah it's a great place for lunch you all should really check it out." He seemed much calmer now that Mason had gotten his message.

During Mason's time turned around he caught a glimpse of a few rough looking men sitting at a table in the general direction Dalton had directed him. The seemed to look away when Mason had turned around so he assumed it was them.

"Thanks for the help Dalton, we really owe you one. Here's some for the drinks and a little extra for your help" Mason said slipping a few coins across the counter for their drinks.

"Hey Tori, Lucas do you both still have those mini snail phones from Lannery Cape" Mason asked. They both responded with a confused yes not knowing what was going on. "Perfect, Tori can you do me a favor, take one of them with and head back to the ship" Mason said with a serious tone in his voice.

"We have some company but they won't be after you Tori since you don't have a bounty so it's best if you just left for now, you're still not ready to fight." Mason explained. "On your way back keep the snail phone on and make it very obvious if you run into any trouble, Lucas will be on the other end."

The crew all seemed to put the pieces together at the same time. Bounty hunters were had been waiting in the bar for them. Tori clicked the snail phone rose from her seat and slowly exited the bar. Nobody seemed to follow her out. Mason may have been right after all, they had no reason to pursue her.

Lucas pulled out the other snail to monitor his crewmate. "I'm glad she had her staff on her" Maggie stated. "Are you sure it was okay for her to go alone?"

"She'll be just fine, don't worry" Mason reassured. "Remember she was the one who snuck up on us back in the cape. I'm sure she's more than capable of losing a couple of hunters." No noise had come from her yet.

The crew stood up and turned from their seats toward the door but the men at the tables had already gotten up. They were now blocking the door and on all sides of the three star pirates.

"Excuse me" Mason said trying to act like he didn't know who they were. "We just need to be heading out if you don't mind."

"Oh I don't think we'll be able to do that Mason the Astronomer. You see we're bounty hunters and we've been following you since you landed here yesterday." The man speaking was standing in the center in front of Mason, he seemed to be the leader of this rag team of "hunters."

"My name is Raph the Bounty Hunter and these are my men. Now last time I checked the three of you together are worth about 30 million beli. We haven't had a big break in quite some time."

"Now I'm a reasonable man so why we try to negotiate a deal. I have a couple men out on the streets, if you guys let us take you in without a fight I won't give them anymore orders but if you try to put up a fight I have no problems sending them after your little friend who left earlier."

"So what do you say? Do we have a deal" Raph finished his proposal.

Mason spoke up, "So if we comply and just let you capture us you won't go after our friend. But if we resist you're going to send your thugs after her and use her to get what you want?"

"It's that easy" Raph responded. "The only way you can ensure her safety is to just give up, pretty simple and reasonable in my opinion."

Mason grabbed the snail phone out of Lucas's hand, it had been hard to hear with all of the new commotion in the bar "Hey Tori it's Mason, did you end up running into any trouble?"

"Two thugs tried grabbing me but I wouldn't worry about it, I just laid them flat on the ground, now I'm almost back to the ship. It doesn't seem like anyone else was meant to follow me." "Glad you're safe" Mason replied, "We should be back to meet you there soon enough, we have some business to take care of."

"So can I assume based on that that you can't really be trusted with negotiations. Seems like you planned on taking her regardless of whether we went peacefully or not" Mason stated.

"What can I say" Raph responded. "Pirates and liars and cheats, sometimes you have to play dirty when dealing with pirates so we do what we have to do."

"Well based on that I think you can probably assume the only way this is going to end peacefully is if you and your men decide to walk away and let us leave."

"And Mason I think you know that I can't just let three pirates with bounties like yours just walk away without a fight."

"If that is the case then I'm going to ask you and your men to take this outside. The man working this bar has nothing to deserve the inside of his bar to be destroyed. Now if you step outside we can settle this as reasonably as a pirate and hunter can" Mason suggested to the hunters.

"I don't see why we should, we have you surrounded right here, no reason we should move outside and give you pirates any kind of advantage" Raph responded.

"Alright" Mason said, "let me put it another way, either you move outside or I'll have to move you all outside."

"I'd like to see you try."

No sooner had Raph finished his sentence when the doors to the bar flew open. A great breeze rolled into the bar and started sucking all of the hunters out onto the street outside the bar.

Raph and his men found themselves covered in dirt outside the bar. Several more of Raph's men had been waiting outside presumably to provide assistance. "What the hell was that" Raph exclaimed.

"I warned you I would have to take you guys outside, so now that we're here why don't we show you exactly what you got yourselves into" Mason had gotten incredibly serious.

With Lucas and Maggie standing either side of their captain Mason drew his saber and slight breeze swept across the ground between the pirates and the hunters.

The battle started when one of Raph's men drew his pistol aimed at Mason and was preparing to fire. Before he could even start to pull the trigger he found a bullet in his chest from the red haired pirate. Maggie's gun was left smoking from the barrel as she lowered it back to her side.

The silence had been broken and the rest of the men ran in with swords out. Lucas was quite skilled with his sword blocking the many strikes launched his way. He seemed to effortlessly weave between a half dozen hunters grazing his hand across their pistols as he moved.

One he had broken away from the crowd a chain of explosions hit. Each hunter's pistol had exploded with great force within their holsters leaving them men carrying them dead or in no position to fight back.

Maggie drew one of her new revolvers, the cylinder had been emptied as fast as she had drawn the gun. Six more men dropped all suffering from fatal hits to either the chest or head, not a single bullet had missed its mark.

Maggie grabbed the speed loader Lucas had made her and reloaded the revolver in seconds. A dozen men had fallen already but there was no shortage of targets.

Mason's saber met with Raph's sword with great force. As to be expected the leader would not be as easy of a target and Mason wanted him for himself.

The battle between pirates and hunters continued with explosions and gunfire filling the air with sound. Neither of the leaders had gained an advantage over the other. A rowdy hunter raised his gun to the two fighting captains thinking he could end this battle. Maggie and Lucas were too busy to interrupt the man.

The man felt a swift blow to the back of the head, he feel to the dirt unconscious. Tori was awful at following instructions. She blocked another man's sword with her staff. With a quick side movement the man lost his grip on the sword.

Tori took the opportunity to take down the disarmed man, she smacked his arm away then gave a quick thrust with the blunt tip of the staff to his throat crushing his windpipe. The hunter feel backwards alongside the unconscious man, Mason taught her well.

Tori's arrival was certainly timely but also dangerous. Soon she was overwhelmed by Raph's men, she still wasn't ready for a battle like this. She blocked every side she could trying to keep the attackers away as best as she could with her training but it soon became very difficult.

He staff met a downward strike from one of the hunters. Tori was left defenseless holding back the man's blade and other men took advantage of this. Two men on either side had raised their swords to the girl.

A loud pop sounded in Tori's left ear as she walked the man on that side drop his blade behind him. Then a scream as a blade emerged from the stomach of the man to her right. A great tension had been relieved from her staff as the man to her front was sent flying back against the wall of a nearby building.

Tori looked up to see her three crewmates around her, weapons drawn. When she had shown up the other members had been slowly making their way through the enemy men to protect her.

Soon enough the only people left standing in the streets of Abba city were the Star Pirates and Raph the Bounty Hunter. Mason fought him alone, honoring this as a proper duel between captains.

"Your men are dead Raph, you've lost the battle so stop fighting. We'll let you go and tend to the ones who are still alive but you have to give up on me and my crew."

"I'm sorry Mason but it's too late now. I have lost everything and all that have left is my pride. Either I win this fight or I lose, I won't be about to walk away from here with both my life and my pride."

With those words Mason deflected Raph's sword away with a strong gust and railed his own saber through Raph's chest. Raph was smart, he should have known who was too strong to handle.

The crew stepped away from the scene knowing they've caused enough trouble in this town. "Some vacation that was" Tori said. "I guess we'll just have to get used to things like this" Maggie added. "We're wanted by the Navy and people after our bounties, vacations are going to be hard to come by."

"We need to get back to the ship everyone" Mason ordered. "Surely the Navy will be called because of our involvement not to mention the fact that Raph was wanted by the Navy as well."

The crew said goodbye to their friend Dalton in the bar and boarded their ship once more. As abruptly as it happened the crew needed to leave just a quickly and return to their journey towards the Grand Line.

**Author's notes: **Just kind of a spacing chapter, not sure how good this chapter and the last have been. Very excited for the next few chapters though so there's that to look forward too. Finished my finals so hopefully I can keep updating regularly during the break. Thanks for sticking with me!


	7. The Wreck of the Sea Grand

**Episode 7 - The Wreck of the Sea Grand**

The crew was sad to leave Sabrin Island behind, they'd had a lot of fun on their little stop but their experience just moments ago was a needed realization that things were not going to be easy. The crew needed to get stronger and always be prepared.

"That must have been tough for you Tori" Mason stated. "I know there are a lot of pirates where you are from but still."

"I've seen a few people killed before I'll admit but I've never killed someone myself, it was scary. I'm a pirate now though. I joined your crew with the promise of being a useful pirate so I can't let things like that bother me" Tori replied with a reassuring look on her face.

"You're going to have to train me some more though, it helped so much, I actually don't feel helpless anymore even if I do need help sometimes" Tori continued.

"That's what we're here for sweetie" Maggie joined. "We're all here to protect one another and see our goals through. We helped you just as you helped Mason. None of us could do this alone that's why we're a crew, don't forget that."

"She's right so don't sweat it. Just the four of us is a strong force, we'll be able to handle anything that comes our way" Lucas stated with confidence and a smile.

"Thanks everyone and I promise things will change in the future. So tell us captain where to next?"

"Well now that you asked it will be a while before our next stop. There's only two more island between here and the entrance to the Grand Line. From here we need to go to Clar Island but that's another few days away which is why I wanted us to have a nice rest back at Abba City" Mason informed his crew.

"I guess for now we just need to hold tight and hope the seas are friendly. Lucas you did manage to pick up some stuff while we were on Sabrin right? I guess now is as good a time as any to get tinkering while I teach Tori a bit more on how to use her staff."

Lucas retreated to his workshop while Mason stayed on deck with Tori. Maggie found herself enjoying the down time just lying on the upper deck.

Night grew near and the crew gathered for a meal on deck tonight under the stars. Glasses banged together and laughs were shared by all. Tori was worn out from training and Lucas was absolutely covered in metal dust and shavings. This ship really needed a shower.

Maggie and Mason manned the ship that night. The stars were almost as bright as they were that night Maggie had first sailed away from her hometown with Mason and Lucas.

"They never get old do they Mason" Maggie asked.

"They never do. They are one of the few constants and in this crazy world" Mason replied.

"So tell me captain, we all know why we're sailing. But why are you here. Like why do you sail? You haven't really mentioned any goals of your own, surely there's something you want to do" Maggie questioned.

"Hmmm, you're not wrong Maggie, I have a goal I plan on reaching like everyone else but it's not so easy to explain. I'll get back to you on this one day and maybe you'll see what I mean but for now just focus on your own goals" Mason said, his eyes never leaving the stars.

Early the next morning the whole crew was present on deck getting ready to continue where they left off the previous day. Tori stood at the bow of the ship practicing her stances, Lucas was locked away in his workshop, Mason was at the helm of the ship and Maggie was cleaning her guns.

In the middle of a strike Tori saw something off in the distance, but she couldn't tell what it was yet.

"Mason there's something in the water up ahead. It looks pretty large from this distance" Tori called.

"I see it too" He responded. "It might be a ship but it doesn't look like it is moving."

"Should we go check it out? It could be a navy ship" Maggie questioned.

"I don't think so, it doesn't look like any navy ship I've ever seen plus it doesn't have any navy sails, in fact I don't see any sails at all" Mason said with a now confused expression. "I think it's worth checking out, somebody grab Lucas."

As their boat approached the other ship Mason confirmed what he saw. It was a very large ship, it had no sails and appeared to be some kind of paddle boat. It had beached itself on some kind of sandbar and the hull of the ship had been destroyed nearly separating the ship in half.

"Hey look there on the bow of the ship" Lucas pointed. "It looks like there are still people aboard the ship, I think they may need help."

"Alright guys we're going to head over there and check this out. We don't know who was aboard that ship though so be careful" Mason commanded.

A quick adjustment of the wheel and sails plus a helpful gust and the crew was nearing the ship very quickly. As it grew nearer they realized just how large of a ship it was, it dwarfed their own. A couple people aboard the ship started to call out to the pirates, they needed help.

"Hey! Help! Can you help us? Quick somebody tell Flint a ship is here to save us, hurry" Yelled out one of the men still about the ship.

Mason yelled back to the man "We can help you guys but first we need help tying down the ship. Is there a good spot for us to throw you guys a line?"

"Sail around to the other side of the ship but be careful of the sandbar, Flint will be able to help you guys dock on that side" The man called back.

Following what the man had said Mason pulled the ship back around to the other side avoiding the shallow sands the larger ship had become stuck on.

At the other side they were met by a rather muscular man. He wore an orange cardigan, sleeves rolled up, with a black undershirt and green pants with brown boots. He also wore an apron tied around his waist. He had a shaved head but what little hair left was a light brown colour.

"Welcome" the man said. "Throw me a line and I can tie you down right here. My name is Flint by the way, nice to meet you."

Lucas threw a line to Flint as mason steered the ship n close, Maggie and tori threw out some floats to keep the sides of the two ships from hitting.

"My name is Mason and this is my crew: Lucas, Maggie and Tori, it's nice to meet you, now can you tell us what happened to you guys we want to try and help."

"We really appreciate it. Hmm where to start on how we got here haha. This was a vacation cruise ship called the Sea Grand sailing to Sabrin Island. The ship his this sandbar and it tore our hull apart. After crashing the captain of the ship fled with the only lifeboat. We've been stranded here for six days now."

"You all are the first ship who has sailed by in that time, it seems like nobody knows we are out here or if they do nobody has come looking."

"So you all are just vacationers on your way to Sabrin? We just sailed out of there" Mason said.

"Well not all of us are vacationers. I've worked on this ship for a few months now as a chef. A few of the other crew members are here as well. We have been doing our best to tend to the ships passengers" Flint responded.

"I've kind of taken charge for the time being, preparing meals every day out of the stock of food we had left on the ship that wasn't lost. Also organizing sleeping arrangements for everyone and helping out with the medical bays."

"No wonder they called you out here when we arrived, you seem to have a good grasp on the situation. Have you guys tried to call for help at all" Mason questioned.

"Well currently none of the snail phones on the ship work anymore. The only one we haven't checked was the one in the control room but the ship is too badly mangled to get into it. Besides even if we did manage to get it, we have no clue where we are."

"Hmmm, Tori can you grab me a map from the ship and my Journal, I think we might be able to help these people with that" Mason ordered.

Mason pulled up a chair with Flint at a set of tables and chairs inside the cruise ship. He laid out the map and started to finger through his journal.

"I got a pretty good view of the stars last night, I do most of our navigation through constellations and other star clusters. Now we are somewhere here between Sabrin and Clar Island. We haven't sailed too far between now and when I last took down our position in my journal."

"I'd say we're somewhere around -50 South and -60 West so if I had to guess we're right here." Mason drew a small red circle on the map between the two before mentioned islands. "If we can get a ship out to that spot and sure they will be able to find us."

"That's very impressive Mason" Flint stated. "I have no clue what you just did but man does it look good haha. So you think if we can get a hold of one of the islands then we can get a ship out here to rescue the passengers?"

"If I'm right than that's exactly what that means. Now we just need a way to contact the islands. Our snail phone isn't strong enough to go that kind of distance so we're going to need to break into that control you and hope that snail is still functional."

"Let's do it then but first It's about time for lunch. Please I ask you to join us for some food to thank you for the help. We're low on supplies but I'm sure you will enjoy the food anyways" Flint said confidently.

"That sounds like a great plan Flint. I'm sure my crew is tired of my bad cooking by this point" Mason replied.

All four crew members sat at a table near the front of the dining hall while Flint and a few of the other chefs started passing out plates of food. It looked like a simple curry nothing too extravagant.

The crew dug in once Flint had seated himself with his own food. It was delicious. Such a simple dish contained so much flavor.

"Wow Flint this really is amazing" Lucas exclaimed. "I thought you guys were low on supplies, how is it so flavorful."

"A chef needs to know how to make the most of what he has. Especially a chef on a ship. You can get some incredible flavors from some otherwise ordinary ingredients if you try hard enough" Flint replied.

"It really is great Flint" Maggie said reaching for her glass of water to calm the heat of the curry. "So much better than that soup Mason makes."

"Hey now, I work hard on that soup okay" Mason said defensively. "Just because you can't appreciated the depth of its flavor doesn't make it bad."

The whole crew laughed, even Mason joined in knowing full well he was by no means a chef. This curry was better than anything they had back in Abba city and that was saying something.

"Thank you so much for the meal Flint it was great" Tori said as she finished her plate. "Everyone on the ship seemed to enjoy it too."

"I was one of the head chefs before the ship crashed so I figured I would take on the responsibility of feeding everyone while we were here. Hopefully that won't be for much longer though. Now why don't we work on getting into the control room?"

Flint lead the crew across the ship over to where the hull was broken by the sandbar. The room was partially flooded and full of debris from the ship. Across the way was a mess of mangled steel and railings blocking any further movement into that half of the ship.

"Once we get across to that half of the ship, we need to get through that mess and hopefully the rest of the path to the control room should be clear" Flint stated.

"We'll that shouldn't be a problem" Maggie said looking across the gap. She removed her holsters and handed them to Flint then dove into the water. Maggie swam across the small gap avoiding debris until she pulled herself onto the deck of the other half of the ship.

"See nothing too it" She said. Tori followed Maggie's example and easily swam the gap. Maggie helped her up onto the section of deck where she was standing.

Alright boys your turn. Lucas and Mason looked at each other and then back to Maggie. "Maggie did you forget that we can't swim, we'll have to find another way around to get there" Lucas shouted to the two girls.

"How about you Flint, come on over, no need to wait for those sinkers" Maggie yelled towards the cook.

"Actually I think I'm going to go with Mason and Lucas, make sure they get across okay and all that, don't want them to get lost" Flint said with a strange worried tone in his voice.

"Suit yourself" Tori yelled, "We'll be here waiting for you, and hopefully we can find a way in by the time you get here."

The three men worked their way down a few corridors hoping to find another way to cross to the other half of the ship. Flint led most of the way having several months experience in the halls. Soon they got to a crossing that was a bit more manageable for the swimming challenged pirates.

There was a small broken walkway between sections of the ship that connected the front and back halves. The walkway stood about 30 feet above the ocean and shallow sandbar.

Lucas stepped across first making his way across the thin fragile walkway. Mason followed behind shortly after his brother. Finally it was Flint's turn to cross the beam to the front half of the ship.

Flint was more muscular than the two brothers and put much more strain on the walkway as we passed over it. Flint lost his footing on one section and the force of him catching himself on the beam caused it to give way.

Flint was plunging down to the waters below when he was hit by a great updraft that flung him through the air and onto the floor next to Mason and Lucas.

"What the hell just happened, how did I get up here the bridge just gave out" Flint asked still in a panic.

"I ate a devil fruit and gained control over the winds and gusts. I was able to hit you with a blast of air which flung you up here. You're heavier than you look Flint" Mason explained.

"Well that is certainly fortunate, I guess that explains why you couldn't swim across with the girls. "

"Does that mean you have devil fruit powers too Lucas" Flint questioned.

"I do, although mine are much less useful in that kind of situation" Lucas answered. "Although I think I will be able to show them off right now."

"This door into the other half of the ship is locked and I don't assume you have a key."

"Sadly I do not. Most of those key probably found their way into the ocean or gone with the captain. Either way they aren't available" Flint responded.

"That's okay I think I'll be able to manage this" Lucas said focusing on the metal door. "Here you two stand as far back as you can for now, I'll get this door open."

Lucas reached into a pouchhanging from his side, a pouch Mason hadn't noticed before. He pulled out a black sand looking substance that was oddly thick in viscosity.

"During the last bit of sailing I've been working on a new way to use my powers. I call it M5. It's a moderately explosive sulfur based mixture. It acts a lot like gunpowder but I've added a few thickening agents to give it this clay like texture."

Lucas spread a small amount on both of the large doors hinges as well as some inside of the lock of the door. He drew a small x on the center of the door to help push the door away from them.

"Okay step back, I haven't actually tested this stuff outside of the workshop so I'm hoping it still works. The hinges and lock should break and the door should just fall back into the ship" Lucas explained.

All three men stood back near the edge as Lucas gave a thrust of his palm towards the door. The M5 ignited and blasted the door back into the ship and away from the men with considerable force.

"Ahh see no door is a match for me now" Lucas joked. Mason and Flint both looked at the bag of explosives hanging from Lucas's belt in worry of what will happen if that stuff goes off.

"Oh don't worry you two, you can't ignite this stuff through traditional methods that why it's perfect in combination with my devil fruit powers. Now let's get moving and meet up with the girls. Surely they've already found a way in."

**Author's notes: **Part one of the Sea Grand section. Part 2 should follow shortly. Very happy with these couple chapters so I hope you all enjoy them as well. Comments would be appreciated.


	8. Help is on the Way

**Episode 8 - Help is on the Way. **

After a few minutes of navigating the now crushed corridors of the Sea Grand the three men soon heard the familiar voices of Tori and Maggie. They had found their way past the mess in the middle of the ship but got stuck behind a similarly locked door.

Lucas told the girls to stay away from the door as he dug into his bag of M5 once more. After a similar setup with a little less of the material Lucas had dislodged the door separating the two groups.

"That's pretty impressive Lucas, is that what you've been working on" Tori asked.

"Sure is, helped us in the same situation. It is still not perfect though, I have to still work out some kinks plus it's not the easiest stuff in the world to make" Lucas replied.

"Well now that we're all together again I think it's time we found that control room, what do you say flint" Mason inquired.

"It shouldn't be much farther from here. We should find a staircase around the corner which brings us up to the top level of the ship, from there we just move to the bow of the ship where the control room is" Flint responded.

"Alright well lead the way, we're right behind you" Mason assured.

Just as Flint had mentioned there was a staircase just around the corner that was only blocked by minor debris. Once at the top they walked a straight line towards the front of the ship. Several of the supports from the lower half of the ship and been pushed through the floor making navigation awkward.

"It should be just up ahead, not much further. I really haven't thanked you guys enough for helping us by the way. I'd never had made it this far on my own" Flint spoke thankfully.

"It's no problem at all" Maggie said. "But we haven't saved you guys yet."

As the crew and the cook rounded the last corner they were not prepared for what they saw. Several of the main beams which were supposed to keep the control room stable within the ship had broken off and pushed through the floor. They created a huge thick blockade in front of the door.

"That's a problem" Lucas stated. "My M5 is strong but I'd need a lot to be able to blast through all of that and I haven't tested its use in large quantities. I wouldn't know how much to use or if I even had enough. Is there another way in?"

"Sadly no" Flint replied. "In an effort to keep the captain safe the control room is built with incredibly thick walls and only one point of entry. That's the only way in and out."

"So we're stuck then" Mason said disappointedly. "This whole trip to be stopped by a wall."

"Well we're not exactly stuck yet, I'm pretty sure I can still get us in there. We just have to get these supports out of the way" Flint started planning.

"Lucas can you use your M5 and weaken the supports here at the floor. You don't need to get all the way through just kind of weaken them as much as you can safely" Flint asked.

Lucas did what was asked of him and spread a thin ring of M5 around the base of all three supports that resided in front of the door. After ignition all the supports had chunks blown out from their bases.

"Perfect, I should be able to get them out of the way now. I'm going to move them over to the left side so just stand to the right if you could" Flint suggested.

All four crew members stood to the right but all with puzzled looks on their faces. Flint was strong and all but how did he intend to break and move the beams.

Flint walked over to the far left support and removed his shoes. He wrapped his arms around looking for a good grip. Once he had found one he liked he started to pull at the massive steel supports in an effort to move them.

He was making no progress it seemed but suddenly the support started to move. Flint's already muscular arms seemed to grow slightly underneath the sleeves of his shirt. The support was beginning to budge under the extreme force Flint was putting on it.

Not only did his arms seem to expand but so did his hands. They grew bigger and thicker making for a much stronger grip on the metal beam. His feet and legs started to expand too. His feet were changing now looking extremely similar to his now bigger hands.

Black hair emerged from under his sleeves and his pant legs. His chest started grow to match his now thicker arms and legs. The same black hair started to emerge from his shaved head and his facial features were changing.

Finally it was clear, Flint started to look like some kind of Human Gorilla Hybrid. His new enormous strength allowed his to break the support where it had been weakened and throw it to the side. Even with his new strength this was no easy feat.

Flint did the same with the other two supports clearing the last of the debris blocking the control door. After he'd moved the last support his body began to shrink back to his normal muscular self. The crew stood speechless at his transformation.

"There we go, that should do it. Shall we go get that Snail phone now" Flint asked with no hint of an explanation in his voice.

"What the hell was that Flint" Maggie yelled. "Did you, I mean were you just some kind of monkey?"

"I was, sorry, I didn't mention it earlier but I'm also a devil fruit user. I ate the Saru Saru no Mi. The Monkey Monkey Fruit. It's a Zoan type of fruit that gives me all the strengths and powers of a gorilla.

"Gorillas are naturally stronger than humans but in the hybrid form my strength greatly exceeds even that of a normal Gorilla. It adds my normal strength onto that of a silverback Gorilla and then multiplies it from there."

"So that's why you opted to travel with us instead of swim the gap with Maggie and Tori" Mason commented. "You aren't able to swim either."

"Right and I didn't feel the need to tell you all about my fruit if it wasn't necessary but it seems like my powers proved useful" Flint replied with a smile.

"Extremely useful I'd say. But I guess I have to ask" Lucas joined. "Why would a cook like you have eaten a Devil Fruit? It's not like the chef of a cruise ship would need to fight."

"You answered your own question I think. As you said I am a chef, I have no normal reason to fight however I did not eat the fruit with the intention of using it in combat."

"I'm a cook and as so I am always looking for new flavors and tastes for my meals. When I came across a fruit I'd never seen before I had to try it to see if perhaps I could use it in my cooking. I had no clue at first that it was a Devil Fruit."

"Not only did it taste terrible and thus had no use in my cooking but it also cursed me with these powers and losing my ability to swim. The powers have certainly hindered me more than they have helped."

"I'm sorry to hear that" Mason said. "But in the right situation I'm sure your powers could become incredibly useful and less of a hindrance on your life."

"Perhaps you're right but for now I tend to keep them hidden. What would people think if they knew their chef was a large monkey" Flint asked.

"Perhaps then you are cooking for the wrong kind of people" Tori interjected.

"I think we've interviewed Flint enough here, why don't we continue this plan and get that snail phone" Mason suggested.

Everyone agreed that was a good idea and so they entered the now unblocked control room. Many chairs and other objects had been knocked on the floor or flipped over from the initial crash. Maps were scattered across the floor.

On a desk near the wheel laid a long distance snail phone, the ships main form of communication between the islands. Flint sat by the snail and started speaking into it hoping it still worked.

"Hello, can anybody hear me. This is the Sea Grand, if you can hear me please radio back."

A long pause followed, perhaps nobody had heard him. He tried again speaking a similar message into the snail. Another long pause later and a voice appeared on the other end.

"Hello, Sea Grand, this is the dock master at Sabrin Island, can you hear us" The voice said.

"Yes, yes we can hear you. We need help, our ship crashed on a sandbar several days ago and our captain abandoned ship. We need a rescue ship capable or transporting about 200 people" Flint replied.

"We can arrange a few ships to transport your crew and passengers, do you know your location as of right now" The voice asked.

Mason took the phone and started to describe their latitude and longitude as well as giving them a general search radius if the ship was not visible there.

"I'm sending word to two ships now that should be able to transport all passengers back here to Sabrin. They should leave shortly hopefully rescue should arrive in less than a day based on your location."

"Thank you very much, we will be waiting for your arrival. Do you have any ships able to travel to Clar as well" Flint asked.

"The only ships we have on hand right now will only be able to make the journey there and back to Sabrin. We can arrange a separate ship to travel from here to Clar once you all have arrived."

"Hmm, that will have to do, thank you so much for the help. If you need to reach us just dial back to this snail, it is the only working one on the ship."

Flint pulled away from the table and picked up the snail so he could bring it back to the dining hall where the passengers were waiting. He was very excited to relay to them the good news.

"Thank you all too for your help. I wouldn't have made it here myself. You've just helped in saving over 200 peoples' lives. A bit heroic for some pirates don't you think" Flint said with a sarcastic tone.

The crew just looked at each other and laughed. They were hardly your cut-throat kind of pirates. Either way it felt good to meet and help these people.

After trekking back to the dining hall Flint was able to tell the good news to the Sea Grand passengers. They all let out an excited uproar and cheered Flint for his help. They also cheered on the crew who had arrived to help him.

"The rescue boats should arrive around tomorrow morning. We'll wait for you all to board safely before we leave. Is there anything else we can help with before then" Mason questioned.

"You all have done plenty" Flint responded. "Now please I'm going to cook up some special meals for everyone, this hopefully being our last night aboard the ship, I hope you'll join us."

"Well we can't exactly say no to some of your cooking" Lucas said, his mouth already watering.

"I agree with Lucas" Maggie added. "We can't turn down one of your meals especially whatever this special meal is."

Flint and the other chefs started passing out the meals, it looked just as amazing as his curry. Flint said it was a spicy crab chowder. Clar was known to have some of the most amazing West Blue Crabs. The smell of the chowder was incredible.

"Please dig in, I want you all to try my favourite spicy crab chowder" Flint urged towards the crew. Everyone else on the ship had already started.

The crew was speechless, it was like nothing they had ever eaten before. Clar's West Blue crab really was as good as the rumors said it was. It wasn't long before everyone on the crew was asking for another bowl, luckily Flint had made plenty.

"So tell me guys, once we've left to Sabrin where will you all be going? Where are the Star Pirates heading" Flint wondered.

"Next stop naturally is Clar. From there we are going to have to make one more stop for materials and then it's off to the Grand Line" Mason explained.

"The Grand Line, Really? That seems awfully dangerous. Will you all be able to handle that trip? I hear most crews don't even make it past Reverse Mountain" Flint noted.

"We may not be prepared but we'll make it through just fine. I know my crew well enough, we'll find a way. Once we're there, that will be the real test. We know nothing about the Grand Line yet but we will conquer it that I know" Mason said with incredible confidence.

"Well I really do wish you all the best of luck on your journey. I hope to hear great things about the Star Pirates" Flint said.

"What in the world are you talking about Flint" Lucas entered the conversation. "You don't actually think we're just going to let you off that easy do you."

"What are you talking about" Flint seemed confused.

"He's right Flint" Maggie added. "We're not just leaving here without you. I think I speak for everyone when I say you're a part of the crew now."

"She's right Flint" Mason said. "We're not just going to let somebody like you just leave without at least making an attempt to get you to join our crew. When those ships arrive tomorrow, you're going to be sailing to Clar with us."

"You did say you needed to head back to Clar didn't you Flint" Tori spoke. "Why not come with us?"

"Wha.. What are you guys saying? I can't just become a pirate. I have things to do back at home and, and no I just can't do it" Flint said in a fluster.

"And why not" Lucas interjected. "The Sea Grand is sunk remember. You'll have to find a new job anyways when you get back to Clar. Come with us and be our cook, lord knows we need one."

"You already seem to get along with everyone, it seems like a perfect fit to me" Maggie said.

"If we're going into the Grand Line we are going to need someone who can properly cook a meal and I'm not going to except anyone else's food besides yours" Mason finished.

"I just can't accept your offer. This is all too much, I'm not really cut out for Pirate life" Flint said a little bit calmer now. "I'll make you a deal, I'll sail back with you to Clar and act as your chef. If by the time we reach Clar I've changed my mind then I'll sail with you all to the Grand Line as your cook. If not then I'll get off and say goodbye in Clar."

"It's a deal" Mason said with a laugh. "But I wouldn't worry, a couple days on our ship and you'll never want to stay in Clar."

Everyone had finished eating and many of the passengers were going to bed early with the anticipation of an early start tomorrow. People gathered their belongings once again, some people left notes in the wrecked Sea Grand to explain what had happened for anyone in the future who came across it.

Mason and his crew were busying preparing their ship to set sail in the morning. While they had been careful to avoid the sandbar, docking so close to the Sea Grand made it impossible to avoid. The changing waves throughout their day aboard the ship partially beached their boat.

Using his incredible strength Flint was able to dislodge it from the sand, he was careful not to accidentally fall into the ocean.

Lucas was busy salvaging some of the scrap metals and debris from the wreck. He was always in shortage of building materials for his projects.

Tori and Maggie along with Flint moved some of his cooking equipment onto their ship. The kitchen was nearly empty before that and it certainly wasn't clean.

As always Mason was busy above deck with his maps charting out their course for the morning. Clar would only be a day and a half trip from the wreck of the Sea Grand.

Both the Star Pirate crew and the passengers and crew of the Sea Grande slept well that night. Only one person found themselves still awake into the late hours. Flint didn't know how to approach this new situation

He knew there was nothing waiting for him when he got to Clar. No family and few friends. He'd intended to stay on the Sea Grand for a very long time. He'd even dreamed of being the head chef one day. Being a pirate was never on his list of things too.

They were nice though. Not what he imagined most pirates like. They were different, they cared for the people of this ship just as much as he did. In the end it was their help that saved hundreds. Maybe they really weren't that bad, only time will tell.

The morning seemed to take forever to arrive. Even then the ships would not arrive immediately. The crew shared one last meal with Flint and the passengers before two ships appeared on the horizon. The passengers and crew cheered as the boats grew nearer.

Many of the passengers thanked Flint and the crew before boarding the ships destined for Sabrin. He wore a big smile as he shook the hands of the grateful people he had been leading over this past week.

Finally the last of the passengers boarded the boats and were ready to sail back. Many questioned why Flint hadn't boarded yet, he just smiled and waved them off. The boats untied themselves and slowly drifted away from the wreck of the Sea Grand.

Trying not to show the emotions on his face Flint wiped his face with his sleeve and looked back towards the crew, "Don't you think we should get going too Mason?"

"Indeed we should. We should be set to sail straight for Clar, the trip won't be incredibly long so you won't have long to make your decision" Mason said in a more serious tone.

"I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to make the right decision, but until we get to Clar I'm a member of this crew regardless. So what do you say captain, shall we go?"

**Author's Notes: **Okay so here is part 2 of the Sea Grand section. Technically the next chapter will be relating to this as well so I guess it's a 3 parter. I wrote this chapter immediately after finishing the last chapter so I've been sitting on it for a day waiting to update it today. Probably wont be able to update again until Monday because of work and other engagements. Hope you all enjoy.


	9. The Clar Cooking Competition

**Episode 9 - The Clar Cooking Competition**

Sailing away from the Sea Grand and its remaining crew was a bit emotional for Flint. He'd spent the last several months aboard that ship catering to the flocks of new passengers traveling between islands.

It was once a glorious ship and now it sat beached and destroyed with no crew, no captain and no passengers. The quietest the ship has been since its construction.

The crew's journey back was a peaceful one. Calm waters and gentle winds. For once they were all able to have a proper meal at sea. Flint called in his temporary crew mates for lunch in the ships tiny dining hall.

"What do you all think" Flint questioned. "I hope you all like the food."

The rest of the crew was too busy stuffing their faces to answer his question properly. That was all the answer he needed though. It's always good to see people enjoying your food.

Maggie put her fork down, "how did you get to become such a good cook Flint? The food really is incredible, is it just practice."

"I guess you could say that yeah" Flint responded. "It's kind of in my blood. Both of my parents are chefs. Because of that I've been around good food and have been cooking for a very long time already."

"Are your parents cooks on Clar" Tori asked. "Will we get to meet them?"

"They used to be but not anymore. They were famous in Clar and much of the West Blue, they were head chefs of the nicest restaurant on Clar. Because of that they received many job offers from across the sea."

"Right now they are both traveling with a culinary school through the West Blue and training up and coming chefs. They really enjoy the job but they have been away from home since before I was hired onto the Sea Grand."

"I don't expect them back anytime soon either but they do send letters regularly. Being their son I had a lot to live up to in the culinary world, I was hoping working on the Sea Grand would give me better experience cooking out at sea."

"Will anybody be waiting for you when we get there Flint" Lucas asked.

"I have a few friends I plan on visiting as soon as I get home. They have some strong connections in the food industry there so I should be back on my feet in no time when we get there."

"Do you really plan on staying in Clar Flint? Our ship would be so much better with you as our cook" Lucas pleaded.

"Sadly I do plan on staying. I just don't think the Pirate life is for me. Besides, Clar is my home, I'd rather stay and follow in my parents footsteps. It has been wonderful meeting you guys though. I won't soon forget all of this."

For the remainder of the trip the crew pressed forward towards their island destination of Clar. Everyone fooled around on deck including Flint and every meal was better than the last. Flint enjoyed cooking for them and they certainly enjoyed eating whatever he cooked.

The water grew shallower as Clar came into view over the horizon at midafternoon. Lucas was able to pull up a few West Blue crabs from the shallower sea floor.

Flint prepared one last lunch with the crabs as a thank you for taking him back home and befriending him.

The plan once they arrived in Clar was for Flint to find them a place to stay the night. He would show the crew around the city the next day and they would sail later that night.

It was late when they finally docked in Clar's safe harbors. All of the fish market stands had long been closed and many of the restaurants were shutting down for the night.

Flint led the crew past the harbor and deeper into the city. He knew every street like the back of his hand. Eventually the crew found themselves in front of older looking restaurant that still had its lights on.

The name of the building was the Aloma Diner. It seemed kind of out of the way in the back streets and had probably seen better times. The crew, led by flint, entered the diner only to be greeted by a scruffy looking young man behind the counter.

"Allen!"

"Flint!"

The man made his way out from behind the counter and embraced Flint in a huge hug. "Where have you been man? Your ship was expected back a few days ago."

"We ran into some technical issues" Flint responded. "Point is these four saved our crew and the passengers."

"Well friends of Flint are friends of mine, is there any way I can help you out at this time of night" Allen asked.

"Well that's just it Allen" Flint replied. "I was hoping you might have a place for them to stay the night. I plan on showing them around Clar tomorrow. I won't be working on the Sea Grand anymore so I'll be out looking for a new job and wanted to show them the town."

"Wow what kind of technical issues did you guys have? Yeah I have a few rooms upstairs they can all spend the night in. A few nights if they need" Allen Questioned.

Allen started leading the five visitors upstairs to two empty rooms. They were small but more than enough for their needs. Once preparations were set they all traveled back downstairs, none of them had eaten since earlier that afternoon.

Naturally Flint helped his friend Allen in the kitchen. They were both extremely talented chefs, working flawlessly next to the other. Eventually the meals were finished and Allen gladly joined them for a late night meal.

"It's always a pleasure to hop in the kitchen with you Allen. If you weren't so connected to this place you really could become a famous chef" Flint laughed.

"Haha, if you say so Flint. But like you said, this place is my home. I'll just stick around here for a while but you on the other hand, you're free to go anywhere you want" Allen said.

"With cooking talent like yours and your already good reputation you should have no problem getting a job at any of the nice restaurant….. WAIT! Did you forget already" Allen stopped himself.

"Forget about what Allen, what did I forget" Flint wondered.

"You got back just in time Flint! Don't you remember, tomorrow is cooking competition held by The Silver Pearl restaurant. Yeah, some fisherman donated a massive west blue crab yesterday as the grand prize" Allen shouted.

"The winner tomorrow gets the chance to cook the giant west blue Crab for the king and they get the head chef's position at The Silver Pearl, the nicest restaurant in Clar."

"I did forget! But all the best chefs in Clar will compete in that, how could I possibly win? It would be the perfect job though."

"You're the best cook we know Flint" Mason interjected. "I'm sure you'd have no problem winning that competition."

"But if I win then I have to stay, there's no way I'd be able to go with you guys" Flint responded.

"Haha, that fine" Lucas chuckled. "Sure we want you to come with us but we can't let you give up an opportunity like this. You should definitely try to win this tomorrow Flint."

"I guess I can't exactly argue with that, this is the kind of chance I've been needing to show off my cooking skills, and I need that job now more than ever."

Mason stood up. "It's settled then, you'll compete in and win that competition tomorrow. We'll wish you the best of luck."

"Will you not be there to watch" Flint asked. "I'd really appreciate the support, it's only been a few days but you guys have become amazing friends."

"Sure we will but given how public the event will be, likely there will be some kind of law enforcement who don't take kindly to pirates. We'll be there just out of sight don't worry" Mason replied.

A few more words were spoken on the topic and a couple stories were told. Soon everyone resigned to their rooms for the night with great anticipation of the coming day.

Everyone awoke the next day bright and early. Flint had to get to the harbor to sign up for the competition, hopefully it wasn't too late.

Upon arriving at the competition ground Flint was able to grab a spot on the list among other recognizable chefs.

"The competition won't be until two so I still have some time to show you guys around a bit but I want to check out the competition grounds first" Flint said.

Smaller kitchens were set up with an ample supply of food. At the back center of the roped off area were two more extravagant kitchens. They were much larger with a wider variety of equipment and food.

In-between these two kitchens sat a huge water tank. Inside was the biggest crab Flint had ever seen. It was massive, almost too big for its tank. It must have been a pain to catch and transport that things and it was today's grand prize.

"It certainly would be a privilege to cook that thing for the king" Flint thought. "Well that's everything I needed to see everyone, looks like it's going to be a tough competition."

"We have faith in you Flint" Maggie said. "You'll have no problems winning this thing."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Maggie, I really appreciate it" Flint responded. "Now let me show you all around for a bit."

Flint led the 4 pirates from attraction to attraction. Everywhere you looked were five star restaurants. Clar clearly was the food capitol of the West Blue.

Flint took them through the many parks scattering the island as well as showing them the palace of the current king. He was a kind man who rightfully enjoyed food to a great extent.

The time for the competition grew near as the crew wandered about the city but soon they had to make their way back to the market to see out this day's real spectacle.

Upon arriving at the competition grounds Flint heard a familiar voice from one of the kitchens. After a quick scan he spotted the source of the voice. A chef named Jai who was currently one of the top chefs of The Silver Pearl.

Many different people were signed up for this competition. Many of them were from Clar but a few had sailed here today to compete in this competition. Many chefs from Clar Flint recognized, a few like Jai were even from The Silver Pearl and were seeking a better title.

Jai never quite got along with Flint. The two had very few interactions in the past but out of those Jai never seemed to like Flint's presence. Perhaps he had been bitter about Flint's natural ability as a chef.

Flint knew if anyone here was going to give him trouble it would be Jai. They had competed many times in the past trading victories back and forth.

The difference now was that while Jai had taken his restaurant job cooking and perfecting the same meals Flint had been traveling the seas experimenting with all new flavors and ingredients.

Jai had also noticed Flint and broke away from the kitchen he had been prepping. "I'm surprised to see you here today Flint. I thought you'd still be out on you fancy little party boat living the life at sea."

"And I'm surprised they gave one of their head chefs the day off to compete in some competition" Flint replied.

"At least I'm not wasting my time as a chef on a party cruise. My cooking is way ahead of yours now because of this job" Jai responded.

"Yeah, although I suppose if your cooking was that good they would have just given the job to you instead of having a competition for it" Flint countered.

Flint's words stung because Jai knew he was right. They should have just given him the head chef's position. Sure he was young but he was a better cook than anyone else in that kitchen. Why did he have to fight for the position he deserved.

"It doesn't matter Flint. I'm going to win this competition and take that head chefs position anyways. And I'll be able to cook that crab for the king. Maybe I'll even be named the king's personal chef after all this is done" Jai laughed.

"Well good luck" Flint said genuinely, "The competition is about to start so may the best cook win."

Jai walked away towards his station. Flint did the same walking towards his assigned station quite a bit away from Jai's. "I suppose this is where we say bye for now. You guys promise you'll be watching the competition right" Flint asked."

"Of course we will Flint" Tori responded.

"We'll be waiting for you at the end regardless of the outcome" Lucas added. "Maybe you'll even change your mind when you win and sail with us anyways" he joked.

"Haha, perhaps I will. Regardless of if I stay or not it was a pleasure meeting you all."

"Likewise Flint" Mason said, "good luck."

The crew separated themselves from the chef and melded into the rest of the watching public. Flint took note of a group of the cities guard moving in around the competition grounds for crowd control. When he looked for the pirates to give them some kind of visual indication but they were already gone.

Soon it was time for the competition. Thirty two chefs from all around had signed up for the event. Thee chefs were separated into four brackets of eight chefs each.

Each bracket would compete to name one of their eight as the top chef. Then all four tops chefs, the winner of each bracket, would compete in a four man competition to be named the winner.

Whoever's food impressed the judged most would be given the title of Silver Pearl head chef and the opportunity to cook the giant west blue crab.

The initial brackets were one on one elimination rounds which tested chefs' resourcefulness when presented with specific ingredients to use in a dish. Winning meant moving on to face another winner and losing meant immediate elimination from the competition.

His time at sea, especially his previous week aboard the wreck of the Sea Grand greatly prepared Flint to be resourceful and make do with what was available because at sea you could not get other ingredients.

Flint easily took the top chef position is his bracket, and Jai did the same in his. The other top chefs included one other Silver Pearl chef by the name of Don and a renowned chef in the West Blue named Jean or had traveled a long distance for this competition.

The four competitors moved up the center stage kitchens. Each of the two kitchens were capable of supporting two chefs. Flint and Don would cook on the left hand kitchen while Jai and Jean would be cooking on the right side.

This part of the competition differed from the first elimination rounds. First it was four people competing against one another and not just two. This was also a free cook competition. Chefs could cook whatever they wanted within the time limit. They were not restricted by required ingredients.

It also tested their ability to work around or with other chefs in the kitchen. As the Head chef of a famous restaurant this would be a crucial skill.

The competition announcer stood between the two kitchens. Behind was the tank holding the massive crab to be cooked at the end of this competition. He introduced each chef and their background as well as explaining the new competition rules.

After a short pause the announcer signaled for the start of the competition and the timer had begun.

Because of his boating background Flint always favoured seafood dishes. Shrimp and scallops hit his grills as well as squid and a ton of veggies. Don was a more turf kind of cook starting with small cuts of steak and red skinned potatoes.

Jai cooked with both meats as well as an overwhelming amount of broth and greens. Jean started cooking a large pot of chili with beans from his home town.

Only twenty-five minutes remained in the competition and the plates started rolling out of both kitchens for the judges to test.

Flint had an array of shrimp and scallops, squid kabobs and his specialty conch chowder which uses spices he picked up during his travels.

The other chefs arrangement of meats and greens also started to hit the judges table but would not be tasted until the final buzzer was called.

Jai and Flint shot glances back and forth across the two kitchens. Both were determined to win this event and neither was going to give in.

The announcer called out, there was only 5 minutes left in the competition. All four cooks were moving in a panic to finish their dishes and have them ready on the judges table. When time was finally called each chef had sighed in relief that all dishes had been finished.

Jai stood next to Flint as if waiting to gloat upon his victory. The judges were going love his food, he was guaranteed that position.

Most of the way through the judging process some people in the crowd started making a commotion. They were trying to alert the guard of something but what.

It ran through Flint's mind that perhaps somebody had recognized the pirate crew that had come to support him. This was no time for them to get arrested.

The spectators were pointing towards Flint. Had they connected him with pirates? This was about to get very bad very quickly and Flint knew it but then he heard a thump and a crack.

Flint looked behind where he and the other chefs were standing to see the large west blue crab causing a commotion in its rather cramped tank. They weren't pointing at him they were pointing at the crab which was a relief but not for long.

The crab had cracked his tank beating down on the glass. This crab was massive, several times larger than a normal human and heavily armored. If that thing was set loose right now it could cause all kind of havoc on the event grounds.

Just as Flint thought this it happened. The massive west blue crab and cracked and broken his tank. Glass and water came pouring out from between the two kitchens. It knocked over all four chefs and ruined the judges table.

The crab presented itself before the four chefs who once had aspirations of cooking it. He presented his claws and started striking at the men. The crowd and guard had erupted into a panic as the men fled from the beast but one among them had not yet fled.

Flint stood in front of the crab as if to block its path. He would have to be the one to stop it from causing any problems for the spectators.

Flint quickly removed and tossed his shoes then ran to embrace the beast. He grabbed each claw with his bare human hands as if to hold it back. People stood and yelled, shocked at this man's bravery and stupidity.

Flint was soon overpowered by the crab, he was not even close to done though. Just as he had on the Sea Grand Flint made his shift to the Gorilla hybrid form and kept a much stronger grip on the crab's claws with his now enlarged hands.

His whole body became incredibly muscular and covered in hair, the crowd was in awe, Jai couldn't believe his eyes.

After struggling to hold the crab back it was now flints turn to go on the offensive. Swinging his lower half forward Flint grabbed the claws with his hand like feet and released with his hands to change his grip and angle.

He bent backwards gripping the rough cobblestone floor of the event area. With a locked grip he swung the crab over his body and slammed it down back first onto the hard stone ground. The crabs shell had shattered under the tremendous force.

Flint had killed this monster in one solid slam and saved what was left of the event. When he turned around to see the unharmed spectators he was met with looks of disgust and fear.

Jai was the first to yell out. "He's a monster! He's some kind of ape monster! We've all been fooled."

By this time Flint had already reverted back to his human form but the looks on the peoples' faces did not change. They all knew of his secret now.

"He can't be a cook, he's a hairy beast" Someone from the crowd shouted. "He should be shot or at least arrested, that monster!"

An uproar or similar comments broke out among the crowd. Their opinions had become very clear, He was no longer welcome among the people. Citizens he had cooked for for years were making these comments.

Flint looked among the faces of the crowd, hoping he could find some support from his pirate friends but they were nowhere to be seen. "They wouldn't have left" he thought," they must be here."

Flint spoke out. "What I am has no merit on my ability to cook. I'm not the monster you all think I am. I'm just like anybody else, my only difference is a passion for cooking."

The crowd continued to boo and Flint knew his words went unheard. He had only one option left, hopefully it was still an option because the guards we're no slowly moving towards the front of the event area.

"Tori! Are you here? Back on the Sea Grand you said something to me, do you remember what you said? I said I kept my powers secret because if people knew, they would not accept me as their cook. It seems like I was right."

Flint continued, "But then you told me something equally as true. If those people won't accept me as a chef or accept my cooking then perhaps I'm trying to cook for the wrong people."

"Mason! I hope it's not too late" Flint shouted over the entire audience. "I want to join your crew, I want to be your chef. Take me with you to the Grand Line!"

That was all they needed to hear. Four unfamiliar people broke out of the crowd and through the ranks of the guard. They stood before Flint with smiles on their faces. Well he didn't recognize them he could tell who they were. They had been disguised in the crowd the whole time.

Mason slammed his hand down on his cook's shoulder and let out a hardly laugh. Before any more words could be spoken or the guard could make any more advances a large spout of wind kicked up a dusty whirlwind in the center of the event grounds.

When the dust had finally settled all four mysterious figures had vanished and the monster who had saved them from the crab was gone as well.

The crowd was confused and relieved but Jai now was determined. With all of this commotion his stake at the job was in jeopardy, he needed to know the winner.

Jai shouted to the judges who were still in shock from the recent events. "Who won? Who is the winner?"

The 3 judges looked back at each other and with a simple nod the head judge spoke up. "Well before all of this commotion we had all agreed upon a winner of the competition." He looked back to the other judges than to the kitchen where Don and Flint had been cooking.

"However due to, ummm, recent difficulties it seems our winner is no longer present to accept his reward."

The crowd fell silent realizing what the judges meant by this. Jai went into a state of denial then demanded them claim another victor since Flint was now disqualified.

Before the head judge could speak up another voice fell over the crowd. It was the owner of the Silver Pearl.

"Before we get to hasty in naming victors I would like to make a statement. It is clear to me that the winner of this competition should have been the man we all just drove off of the island. No matter how much we may dislike it, that MAN was the best cook here."

"With that said I like to make this proposal. The head chef spot at my restaurant shall remain vacant for the time being. Should Flint ever return I will personally welcome him with open arms and the job shall go to him, the one who truly deserves it."

"With that said this competition is over, and Jai, I expect you back at work this evening for the dinner rush" The owner said with a smile.

**Author Notes: **Wow so this is incredibly late. I know I promised this chapter about 2 weeks ago but so much has come up the past few weeks. I have been non-stop busy and couldn't find a good time to sit down and write. To make up for it this chapter is extra long haha. With that said hopefully I can pump out a few more chapters soon but these kinds of unforeseen gaps may happen. You all get some actions in the next few chapters so look forward to that and as always comments and the such are appreciated.


	10. The Last Town

**Episode 10 - The Last Town**

Mason kicked up a wall of dust between his crew and the onlookers. They had to get out of this area and quick but being surrounded there was only one way out. Mason threw his hands at the ground and they were off.

A massive gust of wind centered in the tornado pushed the crew off their feet and into the air at great speed. Nobody was quite prepared for this unplanned flight but up was the only directions out.

The crowd was too focused and blinded by the vortex of dust to notice the crew fly overhead and land hard on the roof of a nearby building. It would certainly not go down and their most graceful of exits.

"Is everyone okay" Mason asked? "Sorry for the lack of warning but it just seemed like too much fun to pass up."

His whole crew laid on the building's roof groaning in pain and distaste for their captain under their breaths. Flint in particular was more vocal than the other until Mason noticed the crab had caught the updraft as well and was now lying dead on top of his cook.

"Don't you ever, and I mean ever, do that again Mason" Lucas yelled furiously. "I nearly broke my back on this rock."

Suddenly Lucas found himself launched from his laying position and landed flat on his face. "That rock was my body you idiot" Maggie shouted.

With Flint freed from the giant crab and the rest of the crew on their feet again they would have to get going. It was late in the afternoon and Mason wanted to sail before dark but they had one more stop to make before setting sail.

Crossing the alleys and streets of Clar the crew found themselves in front of the Aloma Diner's familiar door. It only seemed right for Flint to say goodbye to Allen and they had a present to drop off.

They walked through the door and were greeted by a familiar smiling face. The original four crewmates entered first followed by Flint hauling one massive West Blue Crab.

Allen's face lit up happy to see some friendly faces but then turned to shock and the crustacean coming through his door.

"We brought you a present Allen, A thanks for letting these guys spend the night" Flint said putting the crab down near the kitchen door.

"That crab was supposed to be cooked by the winner for the king" Allen stated. "Am I to assume you won or that you stole it?"

"It's a long story Allen but in the end I've decided to sail with these guys so it looks like I'll be gone from Clar for quite a while" Flint said sadly.

"I see, I kind of assumed that would be the case. You never were one to settle down Flint, that's why you were so eager to get aboard the Sea Grande. I do wish the best for all of you then and know you will always have beds here at the diner."

"Thank you Allen" Mason entered. "You've been a great help to all of us. We will be back one day, that I promise and when we do I can't wait to try some of your new dishes."

"Shall we get going then" Tori asked. "It's getting very dark very quickly plus I'm sure those guards have been scrambling looking for the five of us."

"I suppose you're right Tori. Thank you again Allen, do take care of this place" Mason said leading his crew out of the diner.

"You guys better make names for yourselves out there! I want some pictures of my friends hanging up on these walls, even if they do have a bounty under them."

With that said the crew had left behind a new friend and had another now on their crew. Flint was always a happy guy but the smile on his face, laughing with the rest of the team, had never been bigger or genuine in his life. This is what he was supposed to be doing.

Aboard the ship now it was back to their normal duties. One more island stood between them and the Grand Line.

"Lucas, Maggie, lower the sails and" Mason shouted down from the helm. "Tori hit the winch for the anchor and Flint if you would be so kind, none of us have eaten since noon."

"I'm on it captain" Flint responded retreating to the lower deck. The whole crew was in motion together and it was an amazing sight, they had come so far in such a short amount of time.

Mason looked down at his map, jotting a few notes in his journal. Just a bit further he thought, Reverse Mountain and the Grand Line were just around the bend. Next stop, Roark Town.

The trip from Clar to Roark Town was not a short one. Lucas spent much of it cooped up in his workshop working on his M5 project again. Maggie spent a lot of her time relaxing, she practiced with her guns on occasion but ammo was still limited.

Tori's ability with her staff had improved tremendously. She spent much of the day sparing with Mason who was soon becoming overwhelmed. Flint worked hard trying to fix the mess of a kitchen he was presented with. Eventually he had it in a usable state.

Many days passed like this, sometimes the crew fished for some fresher meals and every now and again they were jolted from their tasks as Lucas blew out another window in his workshop.

One thing remained consistent though, on their way to Roark Town, every night, the crew shared a meal out on deck underneath the West Blue stars.

On the morning of the fourth day the ship stated closing in on Roark Town. Being so close to the Grand Line it was likely popular among both marines and pirates. The crew docked their ship for the last time before the Grand Line.

"Well I have good news everybody" Flint shouted to his crew. "After helping all of the passenger of the Sea Grande, many of them who had money to spare, offered rewards for saving their lives to both Flint and Myself."

"What that means is you all will have a little bit of spending money here in Roark Town to pick up what you need for the seas ahead. Roark Town is a pretty big place so I'd rather we didn't completely split up. When we're all done we will meet back here at the ship, understood?"

With a collective yes the pirates picked up their share of money and set out into the city. Flint went with Mason to get food and supplies for the ship. Lucas was accompanied by Maggie shopping for new weapons and materials. Tori went on her own, shopping for new clothes and cosmetics.

The town was massive and the shops were extravagant. Lucas was having no problems finding useless things he wanted to spend his money on. Mason paired him off partially to keep them from getting lost and partially to keep him from spending everything at once.

Maggie and Lucas first started in a hardware store. Lucas still had plenty of material left over from the Sea Grande. He did find a pretty nice set of mini transponder snails though.

From there they found their way into an arms store, mainly firearms but a few swords and other weapons were scattered about. This was more Maggie's kind of store, she was in heaven among the different guns.

On the wall near the front counter was a lovely looking rifle. Solid wood with engraved metal all along the barrel. It had some kind of clip slotted in front of the trigger. "Is it okay if I pick up this rifle" Maggie asked?

"My my child you do have a good eye, of course you can take it down. That's one of our newest rifles, beautifully made and shoots even better than it looks."

Maggie lifted the rifle off of its wall mount and held it in her hands, light but sturdy. It felt solid in her hands and everything about it screamed accuracy. "What is this bit in front of the trigger, and why is there no chamber slot" She questioned.

"It's a new loading technique they have been experimenting with, that is one of the first guns to incorporate it. It's called a clip, it holds five bullets. You see that little slide on the side of the rifle?"

Maggie hadn't noticed it before but there it was, a small metal pin sticking out the side of the rifle.

"If you pull that slide back it loads one of the five bullets into the chamber for you. One you've fired the round you just have to pull the slide again and it will load the next bullet. Reloading a rifle has never been so fast, you can shoot five rounds in under fifteen seconds if you wanted."

"Once a clip is empty you can just release it and replace it with a backup clip of five more rounds."

"What kind of rounds does it use" Maggie asked? "It doesn't matter you can load any of your normal sized rounds into that clip and it will work just fine."

"Lucas" Maggie said, "I have to get this rifle, it's perfect." "I was just thinking the same thing Maggie, it seems great."

Lucas turned to the owner, "We're going to take the rifle but I was also wondering if you had any new types of ammunition or a supply of tracer rounds perhaps."

"Well now you too certainly are trying to buy quite the arsenal. You're not planning anything dangerous with all of this are you?"

"Oh no, we're actually conducting some tests" Lucas blurted out. Maggie looked at her friend shocked; what was he talking about? "Yeah we're doing gun an ammunitions tests for the Marines. Testing new guns and rounds in extreme conditions, to simulate battle."

Maggie caught on and tried to play along. "Right, Lucas here is an engineer and scientist for the Marines and I'm a transfer from the Marksman Division from Winoah to help in his tests."

"That makes sense, although a female in the marksman division, I can say I've never seen that before. Speaking of the rest of the West Blue Marksman Division just stopped through here only a few hours ago."

Lucas and Maggie shot each other a quick glance of worry. The others might be in trouble.

"Yeah they came in stocking up on ammo. In fact these are exactly what you were asking about, new rounds. They are a different shape, more pointed then round, it helps them travel farther and straighter, very good in a rifle like the one you're holding miss."

"That sounds interesting would we be able to pick up a few cases of those" Lucas asked. "And what about the tracer rounds?"

"We have plenty of both don't you worry. And if this is all for marine testing I'll even give you guys a discount. Anything for a member of the Marksman Division."

Lucas and Maggie leave the store, arms full and a beautiful new rifle on Maggie's back. As soon as they exit the arms shop Lucas sees two marines barreling down the street. Both him and Maggie try to hide their faces but the crowd was already too thick for them to be seen.

They were running for a reason. Something was definitely wrong and they had to warn their crew of the marines' presence.

Tori was off on her own looking through several of the beauty shops around town. She was having some fun with her old wigs so to everyone in town she was a long haired blonde instead of her normal light brown undercut look.

Each shop she went into had wonderful style and incredible cosmetics but they came with a price tag. Luckily the people of the Sea Grande were plenty generous. It did not take long for her to accumulate a hefty amount of bags.

She spent a significant amount of time in one store. The owner was a fairly famous fashion designer and Tori couldn't resist chatting her up about where she gets her inspirations. The conversation seemed to last forever and probably would have if they were not interrupted.

A young man sporting a marine uniform entered the clothing store only occupied by Tori and the Owner. Tori should have nothing to worry about but she was on her guard anyways.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sidel, I'm from the Roark Marine Base, I've been told to warn all the store owners in the area about some recent pirate activity. The ship of a small pirate crew was spotted on the docks of Roark Town not long ago."

"Thank you" Ms. Sidel responded. "I haven't seen any hint of pirates but if I do I'll be sure to let you all know."

Satisfied with her answer the young marine began to leave the store until stopping suddenly with his hand on the knob. He then turned and looked back at the other girl opposite the store owner at the counter. "Excuse me miss, can I ask you something" He said directed at Tori.

Tori started reaching into her bag looking for one of Lucas's smoke bombs in case she had to make a hasty retreat. "What is it you need to ask" She responded.

"Well as I just said there have been pirates spotted on the island, you don't look familiar." Tori clenched her hand around the smoke bomb inside the bag, this wasn't looking good.

"I haven't seen you around so I figured you might be new in town. You have a lot of bags there and I thought you might need help carrying those bags home, you'd look like a big target for those pirates carrying them by yourself."

Tori let out a quick breath of relief and unclenched the bomb. "Oh no I'll be fine. I have a few friends still walking around the shops who are going to meet me here, no need to worry" Tori said in in the most genuine way possible.

"Well alright then. If you ever need a Marine escort you just need to give us a call. With the Marksman Division in town we have plenty of extra soldiers for tasks like escorts." And with that the soldier left the shop and the ordeal was over.

After a quick wrap up to their chat Tori picked up her bags and exited the store, surely the rest of her crew had found out about this too. The Marines and Marksman Division were looking for them now.

Meanwhile Flint and Mason were making their way through the city. They got much of their shopping for food and boat supplies done hours ago and were not wandering the city waiting on the others to finish up.

Walking down a long street towards the center of town they both heard some commotion coming from behind them a few hundred feet back. Flint quickly glanced back to see a parade of marines rushing down this very street.

Mason over heard one of them yelling about pirates. Clearly something is going on and this was not an ideal situation. Both men continued to walk down the path acting as though they were unaware of the Marines' presence.

The Marines had come within a hundred or so feet of the two pirates when they both turned off into opposite alleys, Mason left and Flint right. When the Marines arrived at the intersection seconds later they split in two going down both paths.

Only a few feet in did they find that both passes had been dead ends almost immediately. The two they were pursuing seemed to vanish in these dead ends. Up above the marines on the tops of the buildings both Mason and Flint looked down on their respective sides.

Mason's hair was a bit of a mess from the wind elevator he used to reach the roof and Flint who had scaled the walls in gorilla form was still in the process of changing back. They waited a second hoping to hear something useful from the soldiers.

One Marine had called back into base, "I don't know how they got away sir but they can't run for ever. The marksman division has set up a watch on their ship. If anybody tries to board that boat they will be shot immediately."

The two looked across the roofs at one another. They both knew the only move now was to regroup with the others and come up with a plan. They wouldn't be able to sneak away like they did on Lannery Cape.

Flint and Mason started searching the streets. They needed to find the other three, hopefully before any of them went back to the ship.

Lucas and Maggie kept to the crowded streets of the markets, hopefully they would blend in well enough with the mass of people that they could keep out of the Marines' sight. Maggie couldn't get what the arms shop owner had said off her mind. Mott might be here somewhere.

As the two entered some less crowded alleys they certainly became more cautious of the Navy. Lucas's transponder snail had sounded it must have been Tori.

"Lucas are you there it's Tori, we have a situation."

"We already know Tori, The marines are here looking for us. Maggie and I are together still, where are you?"

"I can see you both right now. I'm on top of a drug store just up the path. Go straight and turn into the third building on your right and head up the stairs."

Lucas looked over at Maggie and with a sigh said "you know I really don't know how she's so good at that. I can only wonder if she can spot us so easily what does that say about the Marines."

Maggie shrugged and the both of them started to head for the building Tori mentioned. At the top of the stairs they were greeted by a young looking blonde. "I almost forgot you got dressed up Tori" Maggie said. "Blonde is a good colour for you."

"Thanks but I think I prefer the brown. Enough hair talk though right now we need to find Flint and Mason, I'm not sure if they know about the Navy yet."

"I'm sure with this kind of commotion they already know. Mason is pretty good with this sort of thing and Flint will be with him" Lucas responded.

As if they heard their names being called both Mason and Flint came tumbling over from another roof and landed in the middle of their other crew members.

"Well that's one mystery solved" Maggie stated slamming her palm against her forehead.

"That's one way to make an entrance I suppose" Tori stated. "But we need a plan, preferably one that doesn't involve falling across rooftops."

Flint and Mason picked themselves up and joined in the circle of pirates. "So I'm guessing you all know about the Marines if we're all gathered here" Mason asked.

"And do you all know that they have our ship staked out by the West Blue's Marksman Division?"

"We did not know that, how did you find that out" Lucas wondered.

"We overheard a couple of cadets who had been chasing us. Is that going to be a problem for you Maggie? The fact that the Marksman Division is here" Mason questioned seriously.

"Yeah I heard a Marine mention them" Tori Interjected, "who are they?"

Tori spoke up, "That's right you never heard those stories did you Tori, Flint either for that matter. To make a long story short the Marksman Division comes from my home island of Winoah. I don't exactly get along with the head of it, oh and my best friend is a part of it too."

"That does seem like quite the dilemma" Flint entered. "Are they good?"

"They are the best in the West Blue, or at least they think they are. You're looking at the best marksman right here so I wouldn't worry about them. I don't want to kill Mott if I don't have to but I won't let you guys down that I promise."

"That's good enough for me" Mason nodded. "Now we need a plan and I think I know just what to do. Now everyone listen up because this could get tricky, oh and Tori I have a special job for you."


	11. The Plan

**Episode 11 - The Plan**

Captain Walts we just received a letter from the pirates you've been looking for. A female cadet entered the office of Captain Walts, the marine head in Roark Town, who was also accompanied by Captain Dixon of the Marksman Division. She handed the note left by the pirates at the front door to Walts.

Captain Walts quickly glanced over the letter top to bottom then handed it over to Dixon who had made this pirate matter his own personal business.

Walts spoke, "They are asking to meet in the town square for peaceful negotiations. The letter says five in the afternoon, which is not long from now."

"There is no such thing as a peaceful negotiation with pirate" Dixon responded. "These pirates are dangerous and we should treat them as such. The Navy will not be negotiating with those brutes."

"They haven't caused any problems thus far Dixon, I'd rather not we be the one who endanger the citizens of my town" Walts replied.

"Nobody will be hurt besides maybe those scum" Dixon smirked. "I'll make sure to have the area cleared of all civilians. I'll also need to set up a few of my men on the east side of the town center, these are going to be quick negotiations."

"Need I remind you Dixon that this is my town and my Navy Base? I expect you to control your men and yourself during all of this but I will allow you to take these precautions."

Captain Walts turned towards the cadet "Thank you cadet, if you could do me a favor notify the other men to help clear out town square and send word to Captain Dixons men as well. You are dismissed."

The cadet promptly left the company of the two captains fearing that the only violence today would be between them.

Meanwhile in the midst of the city Mason's plan was slowly coming together. Mason and Lucas would meet with the two captains to negotiate safe travel out of the town. Maggie had long left to take her position in the plan in case of emergencies.

Tori was also absent, hopefully the special tasks Mason had assigned to her were nearing completion already as five grew nearer. Flint was present still currently watching over the items the crew had recently purchased. His role in the plan was much simpler than the others.

Mason picked up his new transponder snail, "Maggie this is Mason, have the captains already arrived?"

"They have" She responded. "They are currently standing on the west side of town square waiting for your arrival. I've found a position further west in town."

"Good, hold that position, I have a feeling Dixon is going to stir up some trouble. Have you talked to Tori yet?"

"She called just a minute ago, all preparations are set and she is currently waiting by her snail in case we need to advance the plan that far."

"It sounds like we're all ready to go then" Mason said hanging up the transponder snail. "Looks like it's show time for us Lucas, hopefully you're reaction time is a little better than it used to be."

Not long after receiving the letter the Marines had cleared town square and were prepped for the pirates' negotiations. Captain Walts and Captain Dixon approached from the west side of the town. Dixon had placed five snipers in the buildings skirting town square to the east, directly opposite their position.

"The pirates will be prompted to approach from the east with us standing here. That will leave my snipers to their backs. They will be easy and unsuspecting targets" Dixon laughed.

Just as he had predicted two figures approached from the east. Entering the empty town center Mason and Lucas were now face to face with the two Marine Captains.

"Captain Walts, Captain Dixon, it's nice to see that you received our letter and are willing to negotiate" Mason started the conversation.

Walts responded first. "What kind of negotiations did you have in mind Astronomer? What could you possibly have to barter?"

"It's a simple negotiation really, our safety for yours. You will remove your men from their watch on my ship and you will allow me and my crew to sail out of this town with no conflict and without being followed" Mason started.

"In exchange we will also leave your town peacefully, just as we entered, and there will be no need for conflict which could result in the damage of this town and the lives of both you marines and the citizens of Roark."

"Do you actually expect us to agree to that pirate?" Dixon yelled back. "A pirate would never keep true to his word. The second we let you back onto your ship, this entire town and the people in it will be in danger. We can't make such negotiations with you brutes."

"We have no need or reason to destroy this town or the people inside of it. Our word is as good as any in this deal. Our safety for yours that is the deal. We will not be the one to throw the first punch but believe me we are not afraid to fight back."

Captain Walts seemed convinced by the offer. There was no reason he should endanger his town because of another Marine Captain's hasty actions. But Dixon spoke again before Walts could interject.

"The decision is final pirate. We will not be making any negotiations. Also based on your last statement I am to assume you will not be turning yourself over peacefully thus I have to assume you are a threat and must be dealt with as such, a threat."

Dixon reached to his belt and removed a single small transponder snail. After clicking it on Dixon gave the order his snipers had been waiting for, Mason and Lucas were sitting ducks with no cover in the empty town square.

Five rifles fired at once from behind the two pirates. Each bullet was on path for the pirate captain, each one leaving the barrel with a brilliant fiery tail following them, they were tracer rounds. Five bullets total were now visible and no sooner had they been fired were they gone.

Each of the five bullets disappeared in a small cloud of smoke and a loud crack each. The rounds had exploded in midflight never to reach their mark.

Both Walts and Dixon were stunned, not a single round reached the two pirates and why had they exploded so suddenly?

"Well now Dixon" Mason smiled. "I must say I'm flattered. Five sniper is quite a few for only one man. Five of the West Blue's best marksman with their sights on my head it really is flattering. It is a shame that five wasn't enough though."

"It appears as though you've made the first move though. As I said Captain I'm not afraid to fight back once negotiations are broken. It seems only fair now that we fire back." Mason picked up his snail and gave the order.

No sooner did he put the snail down, a rifle sounded from the west side of town, far behind the two Captains. A few seconds passed and neither captain had been hit.

"What the hell was that" Dixon screamed. "Who fired that shot?"

"That would be the West Blue's number one marksmen" Mason responded. "And it just so happens she's not your biggest fan Dixon."

After Mason finished talking the town's communication system started to sound. Static at first then a female's voice. "East side of town, drug store, fourth floor second window from the right." It was Maggie's voice sounding over the town square.

"What is she talking about?" Walts replied. "What was that supposed to mean, and how does she have access to those speakers?"

"That would be the position of one of Dixon's men, one of the fire sniper who just fired on us" Mason said. "That is also where she just fired onto."

Dixon's snail started to sound, it was from his men on the other side of town square. "Sir that position she just called out, that was Robinson's position. Sir he's no longer responding to his transponder snail."

Dixon looked up with a grim face. How could they have known their positions, they were perfectly hidden. "Now you've done it pirate, you just killed an elite marine soldier, I cannot allow any of you to leave this island" Dixon said in a fury.

"I knew that Maggie girl was trouble, now she is a marine killer, I'm glad I refused her into the Marksman Division" Dixon yelled in a fury.

"We didn't want to resort to that but you left us no choice. Our offer still stands, our safety for yours. We are not afraid to fire again" Mason offered.

"No, no negotiations, you all are long past being put under arrest!" Dixon started to once again reach for his snail to give the fire order but before he could another round sounded from behind them.

Maggie spoke again over the speakers. "Tallest building, sixth floor just below the roof, center window. I do not play around Dixon so don't even think about giving that order" She said. "Your refusal of me joining the Marksman Division was solely on your own personal feelings."

Dixon looked shocked, another of his men gone. Walts stared at his fellow Marine, furious that this had not ended before any lives were lost. Now two Marines were gone and Dixon still could not negotiate.

Lucas talked for the first time. "Do your men's lives mean nothing to you? Our captain came here to negotiate the safety of his men, and yet here you are endangering the lives of yours. Who would you call the brute now?"

Dixon looked up from his snail, then drew a revolver from his side. "Sacrifice is necessary to win a war like this. You pirates need to be stopped at all costs, even if that means we have to lose some of our own men."

Dixon raised his pistol towards Mason. "What matters in the end is that people like you are removed from this world. If we have to lose some innocent people in the end so be it. It's all for a greater good."

Dixon started to apply pressure to the trigger. Mason and Lucas knew they had no way to stop this bullet like they had the others. The now familiar sound of gunfire sounded in the town square.

Dixon fell to his knees beside he fellow captain. The revolver slipped from his hand. He hit the cold cobble with a single bullet wound to the back of the head. The gunshot was from a rifle rather than a revolver.

Walts stepped towards the former Marine, a small pool of blood had formed around his head. "This negotiation is over Astronomer, we will accept your terms."

"So my crew and I can leave unopposed?" Mason asked.

"Yes, I will remove Dixons men from their posts around your ship and I will make sure you're not followed but before you leave I'll have a few things to ask you. First I must take care of the trouble he has caused" replied Walts.

Captain Walts grabbed the transponder snail from Dixon's body. "Attention all members of the West Blue Marksman Division, this is Captain Walts of the Roark Marine Base. Captain Dixon has died and until I am able to promote one of your members to lead the division I will be overseeing your orders."

"All men are to abandon their posts as assigned by Captain Dixon and will return to the Marine Base where I will give you further instructions. The wanted pirates currently within the town are to be left alone during the remainder of their stay within Roark."

"All of my men are also to report back to base for further orders on the matter. The only exceptions are the three remaining snipers assigned by Captain Dixon to oversee the town square. You three are to retrieve the bodies of the two others and report to me here in the town square."

Mason cut in "That last order won't be necessary Captain, There won't be any bodies to find, and those two should be able to make it here on their own."

"What do you mean by that?" Walts wondered. "What did you do to them?"

"We didn't. Dixon's men were never harmed to begin with. Maggie's job was simply to cut them off from the other soldiers and Dixon, we had no intention of taking lives today."

As Mason finished his sentence a call rang into Walts's snail. "Sir this is Thomas, one of the five marksman ordered by Captain Dixon. Both casualties have been recovered unharmed. Their transponder sails had been shot instead cutting off their communication with the team."

"They claim that one of the pirates met them at their locations shortly after the fire to inform them of the situation and remove their rifles to prevent interference."

Walts looked over towards the two now smiling pirates. "You shot their snails and removed their weapons? So nobody was actually killed in all of that besides Dixon?"

"That's correct. Had Dixon not pulled his pistol on me, we could have ended this whole thing exactly as we were trying to negotiate, without innocent casualties."

"And when your crew member was shouting out their position over the loudspeaker that wasn't just to prove you knew where they were. You did that to tell your crewmember where they were so he could handle to rest."

"You're starting to catch on Captain" Lucas replied.

"But how did you know where the snipers were and better yet how did you get access to the loudspeaker?"

"Well those can actually be explained together. You see one of our crewmates was able to sneak into the Marine Base as a cadet and set some things up. First of all she replaced convinced Dixon's men that he had ordered them a new type of round for this occasion."

"We replaced their normal bullets with tracer rounds. Normally marksmen want to remain hidden but these kinds of round make it very easy to track back to where the shooter is, especially now when the sky is getting darker."

Walts paused for a second. "So when they all fired on you your sniper was able to track each bullet back to its shooter? That's quite some talent you have there. What was all that nonsense Dixon was blurting about refusing here?"

"A little while back Maggie applied for the Marksman Division, with her talent it should have been easy. She finished the course with the highest mark in every category but was still refused a position because she was female and Dixon did not believe in female marksmen" Mason said.

"And that's why she became a pirate?" Walts questioned.

"Part of the reason I suppose, but it was certainly her reason for disliking Dixon. As for your other question involving the loudspeaker I can answer that too."

"The same person who replaced the marksmen's bullets also snuck into your base and has been sitting in the communications room feeding a line from Maggie to the loudspeakers. I assume by now she has already left."

"I must say that was pretty well thought out. A shame a strategist like you is working against the Navy and not with it. I appreciate your concern for own men and the exposure of such a rat as Dixon" Walts thanked.

"Don't get soft on my Walts" Mason replied. "At the end of the day you're still a Marine and we're still pirates. I avoid conflict where I can but down the road we won't be able to show as much concern for your men."

Lucas knows Mason better than that. His brother is just a huge sap, he's just trying to play all though right now but one his biggest concerns is always the innocent people.

"You are right Mason, we are enemies and after this the Navy is going to be on you even harder. Orchestrating the killing of a Navy Captain will not sit well with the higher ups when I report this. You won't be able to show mercy."

The two men exchanged a few more questions and answers while Dixons body was being taken care of and his men gathered at the base. Soon both Mason and Lucas took their leave and joined up with Maggie as she passed through town square.

Soon Flint, carrying all of their shopping goods he had picked up after his part was done, joined in their trip back to the ship. Tori sporting an incredibly authentic Marine outfit also followed the crew back to where they had docked.

Mason spoke up, "That was a good job everyone. Everything went as planned except perhaps Dixon. Thank so much Tori for putting yourself at so much risk to get our letter to the Marines and tamper with all of their stuff."

"It's what I'm here for captain" Tori replied. "I'm glad my skills found some use."

The five pirates boarded their boat and started prepping for a late night departure. This town had caused enough trouble for them. While lowering the sails and securing the lines a lone Marine approached their ship.

He was skinny and no older than them. He wore a regular cadet's uniform with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He had a WBMD patch on his left sleeve, clearly a member of the Marksman Division.

"Maggie" He called. "I need to talk to you, it's Mott."

The crew stopped. Mason and Lucas stared towards their crewmate knowing who he was. Maggie put down the supply barrel she had been moving and sighed.

"What could you possibly have to say to me and here of all places?"

"We first of all I wanted to apologize. They knew who you were because I told them. I should never sold you out like that. I should also have never joined after they turned you down in the way they did, it was selfish of me."

"If that's all you have to say then we're done here" Maggie called back.

"It's not. After Dixon's death Captain Walts wanted to promote the most qualified member to head the division until another decision might be made by the higher ups. Walts named me head of the West Blue Marksman Division."

Maggie stopped and thought for a second. "What do you plan to do now that you're head?"

"I'm going to fix things. Fix the problems that Dixon left in this division. I'll be taking us back to where it was founded, our home town of Winoah. We're going to stay there for a while and I will hold a new entrance course open to everybody."

"No more of this men only nonsense, I think if you've proved anything today it is how nonsense that rule was. I want to start the Division over and make it better, make it into what you and I always dreamed it was."

Maggie couldn't help but smile. He was a Marine now and thus his enemy but she always had a soft spot for Mott's determination. "You better not mess this up Mott, I'm expecting to hear great things out of the famous West Blue Marksmen Division and their fearless Captain Mott."

Mott was glad his message had gotten through to her and that his apology had been accepted. Sure one day they may run into each other again but for now they still had a friendship.

With the conversation ended Mason called his crew together to get the boat moving, the next stop on the journey was Reverse Mountain and then the Grand Line.

**Author's notes: **Sorry if the chapter was a bit hard to follow. It flows a lot easier in my head than I think it does written down so no doubt were parts confusing. I'm a bit backed up with stuff but I'm hoping to get out at least one chapter a week. I also have a question as it pertains to the upcoming chapters. Up until this point I've made no mention to the canon story line. I haven't decided whether I wont this to be a completely different story or have it coincide with canon characters/places. Looking for opinions on the matter if possible.


End file.
